Committee gives green light to four-year transportation improvement plan

Jun. 20—Long-range transportation improvement plans for St. Joseph and surrounding areas received the green light Thursday at City Hall.

A committee meeting of the St. Joseph Area Transportation Study Organization saw officials unanimously approve the newest Transportation Improvement Plan, a priority list of projects to be carried out over the next four years.

The TIP lays out $110 million in available funds for various projects across the area between 2025 and 2028. St. Joseph and Buchanan County will allocate $24.4 million while the remainder of funds will come from state and federal agencies.

Project improvements will touch on a variety of transportation areas, including aviation, freight, bike routes, bridges, highways and public transit.

"Throughout this process, we're working with our different partners in the region. This includes MoDOT, our different cities within our region, also Federal Highway Administration takes a look at this document and helps us with it," said Maximilian Schieber, transportation planner with St. Joseph Public Works and Transportation.

The TIP is developed as part of the regional planning process for federal funds received from the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration.

SJATSO serves the tri-county St. Joseph metropolitan region, which includes five separate city governments. As a Metropolitan Planning Organization, boundaries include portions of Buchanan County and Andrew County in Missouri and Doniphan County in Kansas. Elected officials from various city and county governments sit on the committee.

Notable projects in the plan include $25 million to rehabilitate the bridge deck over Interstate 229 and Sixth Street, $5 million for resurfacing eastbound U.S. Highway 36 and $9 million for bridge replacement over U.S. Route 36.

Schieber touted the benefit that residents will see from a variety of upcoming sidewalk connections and improvements in St. Joseph.

"Some of the highlights are the sidewalk that's going in on Cook Road from the Cook Road Bridge project that's currently being improved right now to Oak Grove Elementary School," Schieber said. "We have the Gene Field Bridge rehabilitation, which I think will be a good project for the region."

Thursday's committee meeting also saw members vote to appoint former Buchanan County Presiding Commissioner Royal "R.T." Turner as the committee's new chair.

Notable projects in St. Joseph and Buchanan County

$17.3 million for new Air Traffic Control Tower at Rosecrans Memorial Airport

$5 million to rehabilitate general aviation apron

$1.3 million for Cook Road sidewalk connecting Cook Road Bridge to sidewalk near Oak Grove Elementary

$2.8 million to replace bridge deck on Gene Field Road Bridge over Interstate 29

$9 million for bridge replacement over U.S. Route 36

$5.1 million to resurface eastbound U.S. Highway 36 from east Route AC to Route 31 north

$25.1 million to rehabilitate the bridge deck over I-229 and Sixth Street

$9.6 million for bridge rehabilitation on I-229

$2 million for 2.77 miles of pavement resurfacing from 22nd Street (Route 371) to I-29

$7.2 million for 8.6 miles of pavement resurfacing on I-29 from Pigeon Creek to Platte County line near Faucett

$9 million for transit operating assistance for mass transit in St. Joseph and Elwood

$3.2 million for two new 30-feet buses

Village of Country Club

$414,000 for Highway E sidewalk, connecting the St. Joseph Country Club to County Road DD along U.S. Highway 59