UPDATE 7:30 p.m.
Voters in Poplar Bluff’s five wards said yes to a Highway 67 south four lane effort Tuesday.
Voters said yes by 88.23 percent, with 532 votes. Only 11.77 percent said no, with just 71 votes.
This article will be updated later tonight.
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Poplar Bluff is seeing a light turn out today for a ballot proposal regarding funding for Highway 67 south.
The measure is before residents of the city’s five wards.
It would help pay for an effort to four-lane Highway 67 south between Poplar Bluff and the Arkansas state line.
Polls remain open until 7 p.m.
“We think it would be good for the town,” said Vickie Woolverton, as she prepared to vote in Ward 5 with husband Gary.
Woolverton, who grew up in Poplar Bluff, believes the original Highway 67 project has contributed to positive growth for the community.
Residents originally voted in 2005 to create a one-half cent sales tax to four lane Highway 67 north to Fredericktown.
The project was completed in 2011, and will be paid for in March 2020.
Residents are being asked today to redefine the scope of the project and the sales tax that supported it, top cover an additional 12 miles of 67 south.
The tax would end in 2035, or sooner, as originally approved by voters in 2005.
“I’m thinking it’s awesome,” said Cindy Fuller, voting Tuesday afternoon at the Kay Porter Theatre in Ward 2. “We are going to be so lucky to have an Interstate coming through. It’s going to help with the economy, and bring new businesses, restaurants and things to do.”
Fuller, a former business owner, believes the growth will help support local shopping rather with new businesses. The four lane effort has been discussed in association with efforts to complete an Interstate 57 connection between Sikeston and Little Rock, Arkansas.
The 67 proposal is the only item to be decided by voters today in Butler County.
Turnout has been slow, said county clerk Tonyi Deffendall, adding it may pick up when people get off work.
By early afternoon, about 20 people had voted in Ward 3, 40 in Ward 5 and 100 in Ward 2.
Ward 2 resident Joyanne Bates also supports the measure, saying it would make it easier for Poplar Bluff residents to travel south, as well as for travelers to come through.
Despite a positive response from some early afternoon voters, some have spoken against the measure in comments on Daily American Republic stories published in advance of the election. They include questions about why Poplar Bluff residents should support a road outside of the city limits and concerns that the easier access had increased crime.
Others said improved safety was a reason to support the project.
The project south would make improvements to interstate standards. It is expected to cost a total of $50 million, with portions of that paid through state and federal programs.
If the measure passes, the city would begin applying for outside funds in the fall, according to Bill Robison, chairman of the Highway 67 Corporation, which has headed efforts for both projects. Approximately $35 million from state and federal programs would be sought.