DEXTER GETS $600,000 TO EXTEND HIGHWAY

DEXTER, Mo. -- A federal grant of more than $600,000 has been awarded to help finance the extension of HighwayAD to the Conner Industrial Park.

The grant of $636,000 was announced Tuesday by the U.S. Economic Development Admininstration. That money will be put with a $500,000 grant awarded earlier by the Missouri Department of Economic Development to help finance the extension of Highway AD from its current terminus at Highway 60 south to Arvin Road.

An extension is aimed at providing two primary benefits: Providing tractor-trailer rigs a more direct route from Highway 60 into and out of the industrial park; and ease congestion in the area of the Harris Drive-Business 60 intersection.

The project also will help clear the way for ArvinMeritor to expand its capacity and provide more jobs.

The grant is a product of the federal agency's Public Works and Development Facilities Grant Program, which is designed to assist distressed communities in attracting new industry, encouraging business expansion, diversifying the local economy and generating long-term, private-sector jobs.