By Andra Bryan Stefanoni
news@joplinglobe.com
PITTSBURG, Kan. — The U.S. Department of Transportation announced last week that it will disburse almost $1 million in grant funding to the U.S. Highway 69 Association in Kansas to further the group’s effort to extend the four-lane highway from Arma to U.S. Highway 400 in Cherokee County.
Specifically, the $889,200 will be used for a corridor study from north of Arma to south of the Crawford-Cherokee county line, a distance of about 25 miles. Funding will come from the Transportation, Community and System Preservation program, the goal of which is to help fund planning costs as an investment in the transportation infrastructure.
Those lobbying for the corridor to be built say it would provide route continuity with the four-lane U.S. 69 north to Kansas City, and would provide a more efficient transportation system to boost regional economic development.
“We are delighted to learn of this grant as it allows progress to continue on the remaining portion of U.S. Highway 69,” said the group’s executive director, Jim AuBuchon, a former Pittsburg resident.
In February, AuBuchon, along with a contingent from the Pittsburg area, met with congressional leaders in Washington to request that $4.5 million be appropriated next year for the project. While in Washington, the delegation unexpectedly was informed that similar lobbying efforts last year paid off with an earmark of $950,000 to be used for preliminary work on the segment of Highway 69 from Fort Scott to Arma.
And as a follow-up to the February visit, Rep. Lynn Jenkins, R-Kan., requested additional details about the U.S. 69 project in the Crawford-Cherokee county area, and that led to the most recent earmark for the study.
The corridor study will address issues such as preliminary design, traffic forecasting, access management, environmental impact, market analysis, land-use regulation and zoning.
According to Kansas Department of Transportation, the existing two-lane section of U.S. 69 is heavily traveled, making safety a critical concern. Ken Brock, chairman of the Highway 69 Association, reported this spring that 12,000 cars traverse it daily, but it is designed to handle 6,000 cars per day.
Building a new corridor would be years in the future, provided that funding for the estimated $250 million project can be obtained. Advocates say the recent grant is a step in that direction.
Blake Benson, president of the Pittsburg Area Chamber of Commerce, said widening the highway would play a key role in the continued economic development in the area.
Local News
Kansas highway group gets grant funding
- Local News
-
-
Couple 'scoop out' ice cream business from the past
When 3-year-old Brynlee Rabel tried coconut ice cream for the first time Tuesday, it was love at first taste. “She got the vanilla, but when she tasted my coconut ice cream she had to have it,” said Kayleigh Daugherty, a Joplin resident who wanted Brynlee to share the same experience she had as a little girl when she visited Anderson’s Ice Cream.
-
Missouri National Guard releases records involving soldiers who looted from Wal-Mart
The Missouri National Guard has released records confirming that four soldiers were disciplined for taking merchandise from the ruins of a Wal-Mart store in Joplin one day after the tornado that devastated the city a year ago.
-
Joplin school board awards contract to complete demolition of JHS
The Joplin Board of Education on Tuesday night accepted a bid for finishing tornado-related demolition at the high school.
-
Auditor cites, commission covers potential shortfall in Jasper County sheriff’s budget
The Jasper County Commission on Tuesday approved the transfer of $23,000 onto the Law Enforcement Sales Tax fund available to the sheriff’s office to cover a potential budget shortfall.
-
Joplin METS director requests space for additional ambulance
If all goes like METS Director Jason Smith hopes, this time next year the service will have two ambulances in Webb City, housed in their own station. At Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, Smith requested that the council allow the Joplin-based Metro Emergency Transport System to rent or lease space at the former public works building, 110 E. Church St.
-
Mike Pound: Food competitions combine to make culinary heaven
It’s such a great idea, you wonder why someone didn’t think of it before. In fact, it’s such a good idea that it’s possible it came about by accident.
-
Mo. court strikes down part of 2008 harassment law
The Missouri Supreme Court has struck down part of a state harassment law enacted after the suicide of a St. Charles County teenager who was teased over the Internet.
-
Cattle rustlers strike again in SW Mo. county
The plague of cattle rustling goes on in southwest Missouri’s Greene County.
Sheriff Jim Arnott says the latest episode occurred sometime Sunday in Walnut Grove. -
Bids sought for Cherokee County water treatment plant
After many delays, construction bids are being sought for a water treatement plant and water tank for the Spring River Public Wholesale Water District No. 19.
-
Dog helps some get through the court process
Sophie, a mutt of a dog with draping ears and dotted brows, is helping people in St. Louis County court tell stories of crime to judges, investigators and attorneys.
- More Local News Headlines
-
