Interstate 57 effort seeks federal funds for regional project

Efforts to secure federal funding for future Interstate 57 infrastructure are the next step in a project that is expected to be a major economic driver for Southeast Missouri, according to officials who gathered Wednesday for an update.

The I-57 corridor will travel from Sikeston to Dexter and Poplar Bluff, before heading into Arkansas along Highway 67 south.

"It's going to be a real shot in the arm for Southeast Missouri. I envision factories and warehouses all along that corridor between the Mississippi River and Poplar Bluff," said Mike Marshall of Sikeston Regional Chamber and Area Economic Development Corporation during the meeting, which was organized by the Highway 67 Corporation.

Highway 67 Corp. has focused on safety and economic development since it began meeting almost 20 years ago, said Bill Robison, president of the organization. At that time, it was focused on the four-lane expansion of Highway 67 north to Fredericktown and the work underway from Poplar Bluff south was a longterm goal.

"If you can provide a safer road for my kids and you can improve economic development for the region ... That's pretty dang exciting," Robison said.

Projects are underway at Sikeston to bring Highway 60 up to interstate standards, including a new overpass.

At Poplar Bluff, funding has been secured to upgrade the first four miles of Highway 67 south.

Funding is still needed for the final eight miles to the Arkansas border, Robison said. Both Poplar Bluff residents, through a Highway 67 sales tax, and the state have committed funds to projects, but it is increasingly important to secure federal dollars for these efforts, according to the discussion.

"The pendulum of having money out there has swung, and I think the pressure is on to maximize that because it will swing back and then we'll really struggle," said Joey McLane, president of First Midwest Bank.

The 67 Corp. meeting was held at Sterling Bank, with Scott Spencer, chief executive officer of Sterling, and Greg Steffens, president of Southern Bank, in attendance, as well as Reps. Hardy Billington and Darrell Atchison, and Sen. Jason Bean.

"I think we need to keep pushing forward. The pressure will get greater when there's equipment in the corridor and things are moving," said Robison. "That's going to increase the pressure for everybody. It's a positive thing that's going to be happening, that people can see and get behind."

Bids will be let for the first four miles of construction in May of 2022 and November of 2022, according to the Missouri Department of Transportation. Work is underway to acquire right of way for the first mile, while a value engineering study is scheduled for miles 3 and 4. A pubic hearing is also scheduled in February for miles 3 and 4, which make up phase 2 of the project.

Construction of phases 1A and 1B (the first two miles) will still be underway when construction begins on miles 3 and 4, said David Wyman, area engineer for MoDOT.

"Really to the public, it will look like one seamless project," Wyman said. "The construction work will still be going on. The taxpayers in Butler County and the region will still see work going on. It will look like we're working on four miles all at once, when really there's two contracts."

Funding is secured for the first four miles of Highway 67 south work.

Money has not been secured for the final eight miles of work to the Arkansas border.

"To get this corridor completely finished, the next eight miles is going to take a lot of money," Wyman said. "It's not going to be something that the Missouri Department of Transportation is going to be able to finish entirely, but I will say it is on our unfunded needs list and we still want to remain a strong partner to get it done."

MoDOT is also doing work to prepare for when funding is secured. Work on the detail design for the next six miles is underway. The environmental clearances have been secured for those six miles, Wyman said. MoDOT is also in the process of securing environmental clearances as far as they need to go on the remainder of the southern route.

Members of the Highway 67 Corporation discussed the possibility of seeing new federal money following the recent passage of the infrastructure bill.

The new infrastructure bill is 2,700 pages long and information on how the money can be spent is still being developed, according to the conversation.

The group hopes to meet in February with federal officials.