SCOTT CITY IN LINE FOR $1.3 MILLION NASH ROAD GRANT

SCOTT CITY -- Dan Bollinger brought a bit of good news to Scott City.

He approached the Scott City Council earlier this week to tell its members that Scott City is in the final running to receive about $1.3 million in federal grant money to rebuild much of Nash Road east of Interstate 55.

Although the Economic Development Administration grant has been secured, it must be matched with $800,000 in local funds.

The Cape Girardeau and Scott county commissions have provided the Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority with a letter of credit to help provide the local match.

"The roads out there were inadequate to begin with," said Bollinger, planner-in-charge of the Bootheel Regional Planning and Economic Commission. "When the floodwaters hit the area, it just added to the already poor condition of the roads."

Scott City Mayor Larry Forhan had been worried about repairs to Nash Road since the floodwaters receded in September. The financially strapped city does not have the cash to fix its own streets, let alone the streets of the industrial area to the north, he said.

"If any place needs the repairs, I suppose it is the industrial area," said Forhan. "The businesses out there have put up with bad roads for six or seven months now. They deserve the reprieve."

About 75 percent of the $1.3 million will come from the federal Economic Administration; the remainder will be provided by a Community Block Development grant.

Last week the federal government invited Scott City to fill out an application for the money, which Bollinger said is one of the final steps before actual approval of the grant.

The Scott City Council unanimously approved a resolution allowing the mayor to authorize all plans and reports that must be forwarded to the federal government by Monday's deadline.

If Scott City is approved for the money, work could begin on Nash Road and other ancillary streets and roads by early summer.

The Missouri Highway and Transportation Department tentatively plans to repair and extend Nash Road to the Southeast Missouri Port in 1995. The road will be two, 12-foot lanes with 8-foot paved shoulders. Eventually it could be widened. Heavy pavement will accommodate heavy trucks and equipment.

Besides the extension of Nash Road, the department is planning to add a merge lane on northbound I-55 at the Nash Road interchange and do other work at the interchange.

Total cost of the project is estimated at $12 million, with $8 million to $10 million to be spent for the road itself.

"If we can get everything we need down on paper by March 28, we're about 99 percent sure we'll get the money," said Bollinger. "But, as with any federal or state grant, it ain't over until the fat lady sings."