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 A truck passes over Flora Creek on County Road 634 north Friday morning, October 23, 2009, in eastern Cape Girardeau county. The wooden support bridge will most likely not be replaced as soon as expected due to a loss of funds for such work. (Kit Doyle) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo] |
More than half of the $202 million in funding was rescinded from future projects to repair or replace bridges, some which are deemed unsafe. Other cuts include improvements to landscaping, pedestrian facilities and basic maintenance to roadways. Nationwide $8.7 billion was cut.
"I don't think too kindly of it," said Cape Girardeau County 1st District Commissioner Paul Koeper. "It puts every county in a bind. If I had known the money was going to be rescinded, I would have made sure we planned more bridge projects to use the funds before they were cut."
Every county in the state is affected. About $2.1 million for county bridge programs in the Missouri Department of Transportation's District 10 is being rescinded.
The money was part of the funding that Congress planned to allocate when it passed a transportation bill in 2005. A clause in the legislation let the funding be rescinded unless Congress acted to change it.
Projects already in the design phase will be unaffected, said Mark Shelton, an engineer for District 10. He said it is too soon to know which projects will be delayed.
"Our transportation infrastructure is aging and will continue to age," Shelton said. "We're at a point where some are beyond routine maintenance. Our economic future looks bleak, and these cuts don't help.
"Some bridges that have needed to be replaced for some time will have to wait, no doubt about it," Shelton said. "We may have to close some of those bridges in the future if the funding isn't there."
Among the hardest hit in District 10 is Bollinger County, which had $112,243.08 rescinded, leaving with no federal money to spend on future projects until a new transportation bill is passed.
Bollinger County Presiding Commissioner Wayne Johnson said the replacement of a bridge on County Road 328 near Sedgewickville, Mo., scheduled to begin in 2010, was already in the design phase before the cuts were announced. The current bridge was built in 1912 but closed in 2007. Johnson said a newer bridge will cost between $600,000 and $700,000. Counties pay 20 percent of the total cost to replace bridges while the federal government is responsible for the remaining 80 percent.
Johnson said future bridge projects will likely be delayed.
"When we have a million-dollar budget to start with and it costs $600,000 to repair a bridge in our county, where do we come up with that money?" Johnson said. "It's a struggle for us to come up with those funds based on our economic situation, when our budget is down 10 percent."
Koeper said one of two bridges may not get built in Cape Girardeau County. Bridges at County Road 422 near Daisy and County Road 634 just north of Cape Girardeau may risk not being repaired. The wood piling that supports the bridges is deteriorating and is in need of replacement, Koeper said.
After the $173,507.77 in cuts, available money for the bridge projects is $260,642.62.
"It's looking like we don't have enough money available to pay for both bridges," Koeper said.
Koeper said some of the $787 billion in stimulus funding should replace the rescinded funds.
"This sends out a contradictory message, since the federal government said it was committed to highway infrastructure for the stimulus package," Koeper said. "They're talking about taking money away from programs that provided safe roads for the public, school buses, emergency vehicle traffic and much more."
U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, a Cape Girardeau Republican, said she'll try to help restore the funding, as a new highway bill has not been voted on in Congress yet.
"Here at home, our transportation infrastructure and our rural economy go hand in hand," Emerson said in a written statement. "Earlier this year, I opposed the so-called stimulus bill because it didn't address this priority, among other reasons."
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Was Mrs. Emerson asleep at the switch? Future Northwest Airline pilot perhaps? Did she not fit in certain "stimulus pojects" on a bill she voted against?
What happen to the money that was in the stimlus package for infrastucture over haul, Oh I for got it went toward increased spending for social programs such as EBT (Food Stamps), repeated extended unemployment benefits, and education (Pell Grants). The package put very few people back to work but more people drawing social benefits instead working and making a living.
Paul, you feel the same way I did when the stimulus was passed I thought the majority of the 787 billion dollars was going toward infrastucture over haul,to put people back to work on constucture jobs but to find out majority of it went to increased social programs. The stimulus I thought was to create jobs such as the infrastucture over haul, but the money was used for over and over again extended unemployment benefits (which is going to cost employers huge amounts of money when this is all over with)and increased social benefits, so what do we have people continue to sit on the front porch drawing bebefits.
... and way too much of the stimulus money is going toward "beautification" and "streetscape" projects that do not address basic infrastructure needs. The bridge in the photo is a prime example of what the stimulus is supposed to address--outdated infrastructure that is due for replacement NOW. Instead, we get the fluff that boils down to political interests... just as always. Southeast Missouri is relatively good about addressing needed items and it is a shame that a couple of possible streetscape projects in one part of the state can take away so many needed improvements in another part of the state.
Not to worry, Obama on friday pledged 25 to 150 million to muslin nations for job creating programs. He is just a bit busy now but as soon as he and the white house can take credit, the money will come directly from the federal gov. State gov. can be relieved the burden of deciding how to spend it.
I'm glad Emerson voted against the stimulus bill. I wish more members of congress had followed her lead.
I actually agree this time. More of the money should have been spent on these types of projects. Keep in mind though that unemployment needed to be extended and some people need some extra food stamps not all people who receive food stamps sit on their butts. Some people actually need more food stamps. I do agree though more of that money should have been spent on infrustructure.
Jo Ann understands as well as anyone what it is going to take to stimulate our economy here in southeast Missouri. If we get the democrats out of the way, she can do just that.