A groundbreaking ceremony was held Friday for an overpass project that will start Monday at Poplar Bluff Industrial Park.
The Cravens Road entrance will close as the nearly $4.2 million project starts. The overpass is expected to be complete by early March.
State Sen. Doug Libla, Butler County commissioners, Poplar Bluff city officials and others were on hand to celebrate the project.
This is a safety and economic issue, with approximately 60 trains a day crossing Cravens Road, said Libla.
"A total waste of time and energy by truck drivers, people stacked up trying to get to work, maybe a fire (truck) or ambulance that needs to get through," Libla said.
Officials began securing funding for the project in 2015, after Mid Continent Nail announced a $5 million expansion that would add 91 jobs, said Steve Halter, president of the Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce.
Ozark Foothills Regional Planning Commission was able to help secure infrastructure money because of the new jobs, said Halter.
While money was quickly secured for the majority of costs, work in recent years has focused on closing a final funding gap.
"We all know it's been a challenging project, but what project that's worth anything doesn't have it's challenges," Halter said. "Everybody has just pulled together and this is just a true team effort."
A final $250,000 was secured recently from a U.S. Economic Development Administration program, said Felicity Ray, executive director of OFRPC.
Butler County Presiding Commissioner Vince Lampe has been very diligent in making sure this project happened, she said.
"Every project has its hurdles and the county commission of Butler County has been one that won't let a hurdle stop them. If not for that, we wouldn't have a project," Ray said.
It has been a long three and a half years, said Lampe.
"I want to thank you all for bearing with us ...," he said. "We've had a lot of good support. I just want to thank everybody."
The project will be completed by Robertson Contractor over the next 215 days.
A community block development grant has been secured for $1.42 million; $106,100 from the Delta Regional Authority; approximately $1 million in additional EDA money; $383,000 from Riceland; $413,500 from Union Pacific Railroad; $9,500 in county money; almost $540,000 from the Missouri Department of Transportation; $33,200 in in kind work by the county; and $10,000 in an Ozark Border and UP waiver.