Council considers renewing transportation sales tax

Voters first approved the tax, which funds major road improvement and safety projects, in November 1996. Voters approved renewals of the tax in 2000 and 2004.

City Public Works Director Marc Thornsberry said the four-year tax, which would raise an estimated $20 million, would allow the city to leverage an additional $40 million in state and federal funding.

The city has several projects in mind for the proposed funding:

• widening U.S. Highway 65 to six lanes between Battlefield Road and Chestnut Expressway;

• interchange improvements where James River Freeway meets Campbell and National avenues;

• interchange improvements at Interstate 44 and Kansas Expressway;

• intersection improvements at Kearney Street and National Avenue;

• projects to enhance mobility of alternative modes of transportation such as bicycling; and

• projects to improve turn-lane safety, bridge and pavement preservation and improved traffic flow.

“We work in partnership with (Missouri Department of Transportation) and Greene County, looking at where we can get the most value for the transportation dollars we have,” Thornsberry told council. “The most value is on the state highway system.”

Council is expected to vote on the proposal at its May 5 meeting. If council approves the bill, voters would see the tax on the Aug. 5 ballot.