Missouri became the birthplace of the nation’s highway interstate system in 1956 by being the first state to award a contract under the Federal Aid Highway Act.
Now, it’s the first state to award and begin construction on transportation projects funded by the stimulus package President Obama signed yesterday.
According to the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT), the first economic recovery project in the nation is in Miller County on Route 17. MoDOT said in a written statement that construction began within moments of the president’s signature to replace the Osage River Bridge one mile east of Tuscumbia at a cost of $8.5 million.
Other Missouri highway projects under construction as of yesterday, include the following:
* Barry/Lawrence/Christian/Greene Counties, Route 60 – Construct alternating/intermittent passing lanes from east of Chapell Drive in Monett to Kansas Avenue in Republic–$8.7 million.
* Clinton County, Interstate 35 – Resurface northbound and southbound lanes from north of Shoal Creek to north of Route 116 near Lathrop–$14.6 million.
* Pemiscot/New Madrid Counties, Interstate 55 – Pavement rehabilitation on northbound and southbound lanes from I-155 to Scott County–$18.4 million.
Missouri will receive approximately $637 million for road and bridge projects, and an estimated $150 million to address air, rail, transit, waterway and pedestrian projects throughout the state. That amount of work will create an estimated 14,000 jobs and have an estimated $2.4 billion impact on the state’s economy, according to MoDOT.
Click here for MoDOT’s official press release.
Click here for a downloadable PDF of the full list of MoDOT’s Ready-to-Go Transportation Projects.
