Authority awards $11 million for regional projects

The Delta Regional Authority has announced nearly $11 million in awards for Southeast Missouri, including projects in Cape Girardeau and Poplar Bluff.

During a Wednesday conference call, Delta Regional Authority federal co-chairman Chris Masingill, alternate federal co-chairman Mike Marshall, Delta Regional Authority board designee for Missouri Bill Randsall and state, regional and local leadership announced the local, state and federal wards will be for area business owners and entrepreneurs, workers and their families and communities in an effort to create jobs and grow the region's economy.

Five projects in the local region will benefit from the funds.

In Cape Girardeau County, county roads 346 and 347 will be widened and paved for improved safety and road conditions so Capital Sand Co. can expand and add a second shift, Masingill said. The project is expected to create 25 jobs and retain 30. The Delta Regional Authority's investment is $200,000; the leveraged public investment is $1,254,138; and private capital investment is $600,000.

"Cape Girardeau County would like to thank the DRA for the grant," Cape Girardeau County Commissioner Charlie Herbst said. "We had a new company ... called Capital Sand located out in the county. They had created around 70 brand-new jobs in our county, and they did that all on their own, not asking for any other tax abatements, rebate programs or anything."

Herbst said Capital Sand has several trucks an hour hauling sand, which adds more jobs to the county's economy.

"The approximately 1 1/2 miles of road (is) a county road; it's a public road that can be used by anyone," Herbst said. "So in the name of safety and progress and economic development, we're looking hard at how to finance or fund that 1 1/2 miles of road."

Herbst said thanks in part to the Delta Regional Authority's funds, the county will bring the project to fruition.

Another project to receive funding is the Industrial Park Road overpass in Poplar Bluff. The funds will help pay for construction of a viaduct over the railroad tracks that cross the Poplar Bluff Industrial Park Road, according to a news release from the Delta Regional Authority.

The two-lane road will include an approach of fill dirt and a 135-foot, single-span bridge. Fifty jobs will be created and 384 retained with this project. The Delta Regional Authority's investment is $106,149. The leveraged public investment is $2,617,302 and the private capital investment is $1,420,000.

Included in the announcement was the restoration of the second floor of the Ozarks Small Business Incubator and renovation of an existing building for the Advanced Manufacturing Training Center, both in West Plains, Missouri, and infrastructure for the St. James Industrial Park in St. James, Missouri.

The 9,180-square-foot second floor of the incubator will be restored and turned into workspace and larger offices for clients with up to 15 employees, restrooms, a meeting room and other rooms.

At the training center, the existing building, which is owned by the city, will be rehabilitated and renovated into a new manufacturing training center to bring instructional opportunities to high-school graduates and dislocated workers. An estimated 100 people will be trained.

The total investment for the projects is $10,345,430 -- $887,955 from Delta Regional Authority resources and $9,325,749 in leveraged funds.

The Delta Regional Authority investments come from the States' Economic Development Assistance Program, the Delta Regional Authority's main federal funding program. The program invests in public and transportation infrastructure, as well as workforce and business development in the Delta region.

"These investments directly support the economic and community development efforts of communities in the Missouri Bootheel and will help our state and region be stronger and more attractive to businesses and people looking to locate or stay in Missouri," Ransdall said in a news release. "The DRA is a strong partner in advancing Gov. Nixon's economic development goals for our state."

kwebster@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3646

Pertinent address:

325 W. Jackson Blvd., Jackson, Mo.

Industrial Park Road, Poplar Bluff, Mo.

408 Washington Ave, West Plains, Mo.

County Road 346, Cape Girardeau, Mo.

County Road 347, Cape Girardeau, Mo.

Downtown West Plains, Mo.