Commission Approves 9 MoDOT Projects for ARRA

The Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission  approved nine projects in the greater St. Louis Metropolitan area using money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). These projects should create about 5,900 jobs in the region.

MoDOT is spending more than $173.4 million in ARRA funding in the region, part of the $525 million the department is spending throughout the state.  Missouri is also spending about $151 million on   on other multimodal projects (rail, aviation and transit), $19 million on enhancement projects and $93 million to suballocation areas (which includes East-West Gateway, the Mid-America Regional Council, and the Ozark Transportation Organization).

The commission determined the projects in conjunction with MoDOT's regional partners. The projects meet the federal requirements for being "shovel ready," and were selected from projects recommended for priority implementation in the region's long-range transportation plan.

The approved projects are (projects with an asterisk can be obligated by June 30, 2009)

• Franklin County, Route 44 - Rebuild pavement from Viaduct Street to Route 100 West *
• Jefferson County, Route 55 - Add lanes and widen/replace two bridges between north of Route M and north of Route Z
  
  St. Charles County, Route 364 - Extend Page Ave. from west of Harvester Road to Central School Road *
  
• St. Louis County, Route 141 - Relocate/reconstuct Route 141 from Route 40 to Route 340 (Olive Blvd.) This project will be coordinated and constructed in conjuction with a St. Louis County project to construct Route 141 from Route 340 to Route 364.
  
• St. Louis City, Port - Municipal dock improvements
  
  St. Louis City, Route 70 outer road - Pavement improvements from I-44/I-55 to Washington Ave.
  
• St. Louis City, Tucker Blvd/12th Street - New structures/pavement and improvements between O'Fallon St. and Washington Ave. (In cooperation with St. Louis City and the Missisippi River Bridge team)
• St. Louis County, Route 67 - Sidewalk improvements from I-270 to Old St. Charles Rock Road
• St. Louis County, Route AC - Sidewalk improvements from Route 67 (Lindbergh) to I-270

"The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act gives MoDOT the opportunity to complete a number of projects which have been on the regional long-term transportation plan but we haven't had the money for," Bill Schnell, assistant district engineer for St. Louis, said. "The five projects we can get under contract before July 30 will help us put people in the region to work immediately, and will also help the region grow."

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