MoDOT picks consultants for I-44 study

The Missouri Department of Transportation has selected two consulting firms to conduct a 250-mile environmental study of Interstate 44.

Kansas City-based Hg Consult Inc. and Little Rock, Arkansas-based Garver have been hired for the project, according to a news release. Gov. Mike Parson's fiscal 2024 budget included $20 million for the study, Springfield Business Journal previously reported.

“I-44 was completed in 1966 and serves as an important corridor for not only passenger travel but a key commercial trucking corridor in Missouri,” MoDOT Assistant Southwest District Engineer Greg Chapman said in the release. "This study is a critical step to prepare for future projects on I-44 that will focus on improving safety and reliability in this vital east-west link across Missouri.”

Hg Consult is studying the stretch of I-44 from the Oklahoma state line to the Route 17 interchange near St. Robert, with Garver taking on the part of the interstate from St. Robert to the Route 100 East interchange at Gray Summit.

The study is designed to prepare for improvements to I-44 when funds are available, according to the release.

While Parson's budget approved last summer included the environmental study funding, the governor vetoed $28 million that would have been used for a facelift of a five-mile stretch of I-44 in Springfield, according to past reporting.