Council hears transportation tax plan

Springfield City Council last night held the first reading of a bill that would appropriate $17 million in projected 2013-17 proceeds from the 1/8-cent citywide transportation sales tax to allow the Public Works Department to begin working on priority road improvement projects. The bill comes to council after voters approved a renewal of the 1/8-cent tax on Aug. 7.

Public Works Director Phil Broyles addressed council members and highlighted many of the projects the tax revenue would fund.

Projects funded by the tax revenue, according to Broyles, include: Mount Vernon Street and Orchard Crest Avenue intersection improvements; construction of a Chestnut Expressway bridge over the railroad near U.S. Highway 65; replacement of the Battlefield Road bridge over Highway 65 and construction of a new diverging diamond interchange; widening the existing bridges on Republic Road over James River Freeway to provide capacity, bike lanes, and sidewalks; and widening Republic Road from Scenic Avenue to Golden Avenue to five lanes with curb and gutters.

“All of the money will be leveraged with federal, state, county and developer transportation funds to bring together more than $45 million for road improvements,” Broyles said.  

He said the tax has been renewed by at least 80 percent of voters every four years since its original approval in 1996.

According to results posted on GreeneCountyMo.org, the transportation tax, which was put on the ballot as Question 1, was approved by 80.4 percent of the voters.

The measure is scheduled to receive a second reading and vote at the Oct. 22 council meeting.