TRANSPORTATION: HIGHWAY 60, TRANSIT SERVICE TO RECEIVE FEDERAL FUNDING

The federal government has earmarked $11 million for Highway 60 improvements and the operation of a transit service in Southeast Missouri.

Ten million dollars will go to widen Highway 60 from two lanes to four lanes in Shannon and Carter counties.

The Southeast Missouri Transportation Service will receive $1 million in federal funding in the new fiscal year that began Oct. 1.

The funding is included in the transportation appropriation package for fiscal year 2001, which was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Clinton in late October.

U.S. Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond announced the funding during visits Friday to Cape Girardeau and Poplar Bluff, Mo.

Bond met with transportation service officials at St. Francis Medical Center.

"To most people, transit means subways and commuter trains," Bond said. "However, for those without a car, the Southeast Missouri Transportation Service's buses or vans often represent the only opportunity to get to the doctor's office or grocery store."

SMTS was organized in 1973 as a not-for-profit transportation service for the elderly and handicapped. It has evolved into a general public transportation service for residents of a 21-county area in Southeast Missouri.

Last year, Bond helped sure $1.25 million in federal funding for the transit service.

The latest funding is included in the fiscal 2001 appropriation package for the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Nationwide, transit systems like SMTS, serve 22 million people and make 235 million trips a year, Bond said.

During his visit to Poplar Bluff, Bond talked about the importance of federal funding for highway improvements in Missouri.

"Transportation issues are a life-or-death matter for Missourians," the senator said. "In this state, we have highways marked with white crosses, National Highway System roads with no shoulders, two-lane roads carrying traffic meant for four lanes and bridges that are see-through."

Said Bond, "Missourians have waited too long for Highway 60 to be improved. The additional lanes made possible through this funding will ease congestion on the highway and help make travel safer."

Road improvements, he said, remain one of his funding priorities. Bond serves on the Senate transportation appropriations subcommittee.

Bond said his legislative efforts helped secure funding for SMTS and the Highway 60 project.