Officials gathered Thursday to break ground on the next phase of a project that led to the creation of a state-wide infrastructure cost share program.
Work has started to four-lane sections of Highway 67 south to the Arkansas border, which has been designated as a future Interstate 57 corridor. The project is lauded by city, county and state officials for the improved safety and economic development it will bring not only to the region, but to both Missouri and Arkansas.
“We’ve seen the impact on both safety and economic development on the north side and we know we’re going to see that same thing on the south side,” said Steve Halter, Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce president. “The last three manufacturers we’ve had come to our community have all stated the importance of finishing what we started here on (Highway) 67 and making this four-lane, not just four lane but interstate standard, all the way down to Little Rock and beyond.”
Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe first became aware of the project as a member of the Missouri Highways Commission, before the start of efforts to four-lane Highway 67 north to Fredericktown.
The Highway 67 projects have been made possible by a sales tax approved by Butler County residents in 2005 for the north work, and extended in 2019 to the south by voters.
“We went through this project and we said, ‘How in the world are they going to pay for it?’” Kehoe told a crowd of more than 60 people prior to Thursday’s groundbreaking, which was held at Rice Trailers, near the Highway 67 southbound lanes. “And Poplar Bluff said, ‘We’re gonna pay for it. Our citizens are going to step up and pay our share to get this highway built.’
“We thought this is the most unbelievable project we’ve seen in our life.”
Since then, state officials have told other parts of the state the model of how to get something done was set by Poplar Bluff, Kehoe said.
A cost share program didn’t exist at the time Poplar Bluff began its work, but it does today because of this project, he explained.
“The Commission decided to adopt a cost-share program because of what Butler County did and how you stepped forward to do the 67 corridor,” Kehoe said.
Cost share money from the state is now part of the funding mechanisms that will pay for the Highway 67 improvements, along with Poplar Bluff’s Highway 67 sales tax, and other state and federal money.
The first four miles of the south project, which officials broke ground on Thursday, are fully funded, said Bill Robison, chairperson of the Highway 67 Corporation, which has led efforts to get this project started and completed since the beginning. Another 8 miles to the state line is still in need of additional funding, but state and federal dollars are being sought for that. The Missouri Department of Transportation has already taken on the cost of design work.
Last week, Arkansas included funding in their Statewide Transportation Improvement Program draft plan to improve 10 miles from the state line to Corning, he said.
“That cannot be overemphasized,” Robison said. “Projects that get in the STIP get built.”
The Arkansas project will include 32 miles of two-lane highway that needs improvement to interstate standards, Robison said.
“We have a lot more to accomplish,” Robison said. “But everybody here has stepped up and made things happen when it needs to happen. And everybody here needs a pat on the back. When we all pull together and we put things in motion, great things happen.”
State Rep. Hardy Billington said the vision that brought these projects forward has saved countless lives through improved safety.
“Not only is it going to save lives, but it’s going to create jobs. I mean good job, better paying jobs than you ever saw,” he said.
State Sen. Jason Bean thanked everyone who had the vision to bring this project forward.
“I can tell you that this project is bringing safety and economic opportunity to these roads where our families go each and every day,” he said.