JOPLIN, Mo. —
Joplin will receive all of a $12 million federal highway grant it won last year despite the deletion of what became a controversial viaduct project on 15th Street.
City officials have been notified of the decision by the Federal Highway Administration to leave the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery — or TIGER — discretionary grant intact. Mayor Melodee Colbert-Kean said on Jan. 17 that she had spoken with Ray LaHood, federal transportation secretary, and that Joplin likely would be allowed to retain the money awarded for street projects.
“We were able to listen to the voices of the citizens and communicate with our state and federal officials, and look what happens,” the mayor said. “We had a win-win situation for everybody. We appreciate the work of our state and federal officials to help Joplin’s recovery (from the 2011 tornado) continue.”
Colbert-Kean said the decision is an example of partnerships among local, state and federal government officials paying off.
Local officials had worried that deleting the 15th Street project from plans for the grant would prompt federal officials to withhold part of the $12 million.
Mayor Pro Tem Bill Scearce, who along with Councilman Benjamin Rosenberg helped those affected by the 15th Street project bring forward their concerns, said: “I think it was the right decision. In reading the grant application and the award information, there was nothing in there that said anything about the 15th Street project having to be done in order for the 20th street project to be done. The 15th Street project was an addendum to the grant application.”
The grant award was announced last June.
City officials at that time said the money would be used to end traffic delays at train crossings on 15th and 20th streets by building overpasses. It also would provide better traffic flow to heavily used parts of the city such as the medical district by helping to pay for the completion of widening of Schifferdecker Avenue, Maiden Lane and 26th Street.
The city had sought $17.9 million in total to do the street widening work, build the 20th Street overpass and fund preliminary design work on the 15th Street project. About $5.4 million raised by two city sales taxes — the three-eighths-cent capital projects tax and the half-cent transportation tax — had been set aside to help fund the projects. The city was still about $1.5 million short of funds to build the 15th Street viaduct when the controversy arose.
Opposition surfaced last month when the City Council was asked to approve formal acceptance of the grant.
A number of business owners said erecting a bridge over the tracks on 15th Street and closing its junction with Illinois Avenue would eliminate walk-in customers and the easy access customers have to their operations. Some business owners said they would have to close.
The city staff said those concerns and the resulting opposition were premature. The city had not yet drafted final design plans and held discussions with the affected property owners or determined how much they would be compensated for any losses they sustained.
Troy Richards, a co-owner of Joplin Building Materials at 15th Street and Illinois Avenue, said he is glad to know the city will receive the grant money. “I’m glad to see they are going to be able to keep the grant money and do the projects they wanted to do like Maiden Lane and Schifferdecker. They are worthy. I hope they can put more money into 20th Street and do it even better than they planned.”
Federal money
THE TIGER GRANT raised the amount of money Joplin received from the federal government for recovery from the 2011 tornado to $250 million, U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill said last year.
Local News
Joplin receives federal OK to keep $12 million grant
- Local News
-
-
Civil War committee honors sacrifice of soldiers ambushed at Rader Farm
Dozens of local residents gathered Saturday at the Rader Farm on the 150th anniversary of the massacre of 15 soldiers of the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry and three white soldiers from the 2nd Kansas Volunteer Artillery Battery by guerrilla Confederate forces.
-
Summer classes scheduled for Joplin, MSSU
Summer classes for Joplin Schools have been scheduled for Monday, June 3, through Friday, June 28.
-
Mike Pound: No cure for ‘worst parent ever syndrome’
I may be the worst parent ever. The reason I say that is because our 15-year-old daughter, Emma, suggested that was the case the other day when I was driving her home from school.
-
Wally Kennedy: Ye Olde King Pizza to open by September
Let’s start at the beginning. Earlier this year, Brian and Tracy Myers, of Joplin, signed a licensing agreement to bring a Ye Olde King Pizza to Joplin. This style of pizza was the forerunner for what eventually would become Joplin’s signature pizza restaurant, Pizza by Stout. That restaurant at 2101 S. Range Line Road was destroyed by the May 2011 tornado.
-
Registration continues for Get Fit TRYathlon in Pittsburg
On average, it costs more than $600 to match one child with an adult volunteer in the Crawford County Big Brothers Big Sisters program. Four years ago, the Get Fit TRYathlon was born as a fundraiser for the program, and it has been gaining momentum, organizers say.
-
Council to consider condemnation measures for widening projects
The Joplin City Council on Monday night will consider ordinances for proposed condemnation proceedings on five pieces of property that are needed for three street widening projects.
-
Andra Bryan Stefanoni: The story of two engines that could
It’s hard not to be enamored by trains if you grew up where I did. Pittsburg is crisscrossed by rail lines, as are many Southeast Kansas towns that were built on the backs of coal miners.
-
Jo Ellis: Mudslinging can be fun when it’s in the hands of kids
CARTHAGE, Mo. — It’s slick. It’s sticky. It’s goopy. It’s soupy. It’s Mudstock 2013, and it’s going to be so much fun for kids. But hold on. Carthage police Chief Greg Dagnan said Mudstock isn’t just for kids. “Adults go through it all the time, and they have just as much fun,” he said, adding, “I think.”
-
FACES OF RECOVERY: 176,869 volunteers help put Joplin together again
They initially came in droves, pouring into Joplin by the thousands during the months following the May 2011 tornado to clear debris, clean up damaged homes and businesses and distribute donations of food, water, clothing and other necessities.
-
VIDEO: Nearly 2,300 take part in second Joplin Memorial Run
Having just cruised across the line to finish in first place in the Joplin Memorial Run’s half-marathon, Andrew Webb paused for a moment to catch his breath and take it all in.
- More Local News Headlines
-
