Bond Secures $38 Million for Missouri Projects
Senator Works to Fund Critical Transportation, Housing, Health & Education Projects
July 30, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Kit Bond today announced that he secured $38 million to invest in Missouri's transportation infrastructure and economic development and improve Missourians' access to quality health care and education. Bond secured the funds for the Missouri projects in the two spending bills which passed the Senate Appropriations Committee today.
"Local and community leaders in Missouri asked me to send our tax dollars back home for local projects and with today's committee passage we're one step closer to that goal," Bond said. "These projects will improve Missouri's transportation infrastructure and Missourians' access to safe and affordable housing, quality health care and education."
As a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Bond secured $38 million in federal funds in the fiscal year 2010 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Labor, Health and Human Services spending bills that cleared the committee today. The Senate must now reconcile the bills with the versions passed by the House of Representatives before the President signs them into law.
Rebuilding our Transportation Infrastructure
Good roads, bridges, and waterways are critical to attracting and sustaining business, job creation, and economic growth in our communities. Bond continues to stress that funds for transportation infrastructure projects that will create jobs now and make a long-term investment in our communities are a key component in our economic recovery. Bond continues to secure investments that send millions in Missouri tax dollars back home to rebuild and repair our crumbling transportation infrastructure.
- $2.75 million for the Lamar Municipal Airport in Lamar. The funds will go to the Missouri Department of Transportation for the construction of a new runaway. This project will provide safety improvements to a publicly funded facility.
- $2 million for Statewide Bus and Bus Facilities. The funds will go to the Missouri Department of Transportation for the replacement of buses and the construction of bus facilities throughout Missouri. This project will replace older, inefficient buses to improve operating efficiency by decreasing repair and operating costs and deploying new, more reliable and fuel efficient buses.
- $2 million for KCATA Bus Replacement in Kansas City. The funds will go to the Kansas City Area Transit Authority to replace older buses to enhance operating efficiency and reduce overall maintenance and operating costs by deploying new, more reliable and fuel-efficient vehicles.
- $2 million for the Poplar Bluff Bypass in Poplar Bluff. The funds will go to the Missouri Department of Transportation for the construction of County Road 302. The new bypass will improve safety and increase traffic efficiency by diverting large freight carriers away from downtown. This will help maintain and attract businesses and jobs by providing easier access to industrial park.
- $1.7 million to Sikeston Memorial Municipal Airport in Sikeston. The funds will go to the Missouri Department of Transportation for the relocation of a taxiway. This project will provide improvements that will allow pilots to safely navigate taxiways at a publicly funded facility.
- $1.6 million for the Cape Girardeau Riverwalk Trail in Cape Girardeau. The funds will go to the City of Cape Girardeau for the completion Riverwalk Trail extension. The project connects the trail into a larger city-wide trail system, which addresses safety concerns and promotes alternative modes of transportation and tourism.
- $1.15 million for the Metro St. Louis Downtown Transfer Center in St. Louis. The funds will go to the Bi-State Development Agency for the construction of a new downtown Metro Bus transfer center. The center will provide an efficient transfer point between bus and light rail for customers accessing jobs, hotels and the convention center. This will support alternate modes of transportation and reduce congestion of the roadways.
- $1.15 million for Route 34 in Bollinger County. The funds will go to the Missouri Department of Transportation to provide for the realignment and construction of the roadway and bridges on Route 34. Currently, Route 34 is a safety concern as it is a main access point to school for the Woodland School District.
- $1 million for transit vehicles and related equipment in Boone County. The funds will go to the City of Columbia to replace old transit vehicles to reduce operational costs such as maintenance and fuel expenses. The project will better serve the riding public by allowing the transit service to focus on meeting others needs such as the preservation of current bus services.
- $1 million for the Brush Creek-Troost Avenue Street Improvements in Kansas City. The funds will go to Kansas City Parks and Recreation to provide for flood control and bridge improvements, replacement parts and enhancements. The project will address safety concerns by replacing a bridge and mitigate future flooding consequently reducing the potential for the loss of life and property damage.
- $1 million for the Interstate-44 and Range Line Road Interchange in Joplin. The funds will go to the Missouri Department of Transportation for the reconstruction of a functionally obsolete interchange. The project will deal with safety and congestion concerns by constructing a new interchange and eliminating sub-standard ramps and two deficient bridges.
- $1 million for Interstate-55 Interchange in Scott County. The funds will go to the Missouri Department of Transportation for the construction of a new interchange and the connective roads. This project will increase safety and reduce traffic congestion in the area.
- $1 million for the Lafayette Interchange in Jefferson City. The funds will go to the Missouri Department of Transportation to provide for the construction of Lafayette Interchange. This project will provide new access to the downtown area and new courthouse and relieve congestion on current access points.
- $1 million for the MO-13 and MO-82 Interchange in Osceola. The funds will go to the Missouri Department of Transportation for the construction of a grade-separated interchange. The project eliminates the safety concerns of the at-grade interchange.
- $1 million for the Route 160 and Route 60 Interchange Improvements in Greene County. The funds will go to the Missouri Department of Transportation to widen Route 160 and add lanes to interchange ramps at Route 60 to improve traffic flow and decrease congestion on two major traffic corridors.
- $1 million for US-63 in Osage and Maries County. The funds will go to the Missouri Department of Transportation for the engineering and design of highway realignment and widening. The project will address safety concerns and alleviate congestion in this major corridor.
- $900,000 for the Missouri River Freight Corridor Development Study. The funds will go to the Missouri Department of Transportation to study how to increase freight tonnage moved on the Missouri River and to provide for long-term development opportunities along the Missouri River corridor. This project will explore options on how to better utilize Missouri waterways to relieve some of the stress and congestion that the current high volume freight movement places on infrastructure.
Creating the Conditions for Economic Development
Bond has long stressed that government doesn't create jobs, businesses do. But government can help create the conditions for businesses to flourish. Bond has fought to secure seed money to jump start economic development and job creation in Missouri communities.
- $2 million for the Northeast Community Center in Kansas City. The funds will go to the Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department to provide space for recreation, fitness, and community outreach programs. This new community center will provide economic development, improve citizen's health and fitness, and provide youth programs in a distressed community.
Revitalizing Housing and Neighborhoods
Bond is one of the Senate's strongest advocates to fund the programs needed to ensure Americans have access to safe and affordable housing. Over the years the Senator has worked to improve public housing in Missouri communities and has successfully secured funds to help transform many distressed communities into revitalized neighborhoods.
- $1 million for the Ville Affordable Housing Preservation in St. Louis. The funds will go to Northside Community Housing for renovations that will preserve affordable housing units for low and moderate income seniors, individuals, and families. This project will help keep rents low for tenants and improve the neighborhood while working to fight homelessness.
Increasing Access to Quality and Affordable Health Care
Since Bond served as Governor he has worked to improve Missourians' access to quality and affordable health care. From building clinics and health centers in communities across the state to improving the quality of children's health care to helping create a health care safety net for children and families in Missouri Bond has secured funds to make Missourians healthier.
- $2.25 million for the Wellston Developmental Child Care Center in St. Louis. The funds will go to the St. Louis County Economic Council for the final design and construction of the Wellston Child Care Center. The center will provide low and moderate income families with child care services. The center will meet the growing need for affordable quality child-care education in the area.
- $1.5 million for the Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center in Kansas City. The funds will help assist with the construction, renovation and equipment of a new facility to provide high quality primary, dental and behavioral health services to an additional 7,200 low income and uninsured patients.
- $1 million for Big Springs Medical Association, Inc. with Missouri Highlands Health Care in Ellington. The funds will help pay for the construction, renovation and equipment costs of two community health clinics. These clinics will provide increased access to primary care, behavioral and dental health for medically disenfranchised patients.
- $1 million for SSM Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital in St. Louis. The funds will help create a hybrid cardiac catheterization suite for pediatric heart interventions. This suite will bring the latest cutting-edge technology to children in the St. Louis area, and the state of Missouri, to improve outcomes in children's heart care.
- $750,000 for the Curators of the University of Missouri, for the University of Missouri-Columbia in Columbia. The funds will provide for construction, renovation and equipment costs for the Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders to meet the growing needs of children living with Autism. Autism is a complex brain disorder that has increased in prevalence at an alarming rate in the past 20 years. Currently, Approximately 23,000 individuals in Missouri are affected, and many more experience other developmental disorders. This funding will help improve the lives of Missouri children and families living with Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders.
- $750,000 for the Missouri Coalition for Primary Health Care in Jefferson City. The funds will help build and enhance the health information technology (HIT) infrastructure for Missouri's Community Health Centers and the Missouri Primary Care Association. Community Health Centers provide high-quality, accessible, and personalized healthcare services to urban and rural citizens in typically underserved areas. Implementing modern health information technology (HIT) systems such as electronic medical records and a centralized data warehouse will further improve the quality of care and ultimately reduce costs to taxpayers.
- $500,000 for Advocates for a Healthy Community at the Jordan Valley Community Health Center in Springfield. The funds will help pay for the construction, renovation and equipment costs for two of Jordan Valley Community Health Center's clinics. These clinics will increase primary, dental and behavioral health access for the medically disenfranchised. Upon completion and full operation of both facilities, it is anticipated that there will be an 45% increase in capacity from 22,000 patients to 31,900 patients.
- $500,000 for PedNet Coalition Inc. in Columbia. The funds will help empower children in poverty to develop healthy habits at an early age. In just three decades, child obesity has more than tripled, increasing the rates of heart disease, "type 2" diabetes, and other serious health conditions. This project will achieve measurable changes in children's physical activity and nutrition habits, which, if multiplied to a national scale, will significantly improve healthcare, quality of life and reduce health care costs.
Improving Education for Missourians
Education is critical to helping Missourians compete in an increasingly competitive and global workforce. Bond has worked to fund initiatives that will ensure Missouri students receive the very best.
- $2 million for the St. Louis University Center for Aviation Safety Research in St. Louis. The funds will provide job task analysis, curriculum development, and the knowledge and skills training that will improve aviation safety and develop an aviation maintenance workforce for the future.
- $1 million for Missouri State University in Springfield. The funds will help purchase state-of-the-art equipment, technology, and program materials necessary to provide agricultural educational and research services to the region. These materials are critical for providing distance learning opportunities for students and encouraging growth and improvement in the agriculture industry.
- $500,000 for the Junior College District of Metropolitan Kansas City also known as Metropolitan Community College in Kansas City. The funds will provide for the purchase of equipment and technology upgrades to help address the insufficient equipment needs for the college to meet the increasing demand for nursing and allied health professionals in the Kansas City area. Jobs in healthcare continue to be in demand and in some areas there is a critical shortage of health professionals. Nursing and allied health graduates of Metropolitan Community College will not only help meet that demand but will also be able to meet the healthcare needs of the region.
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