MoDOT receives $2 million in I-44 funding

The Missouri Department of Transportation is getting $1.9 million in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation for pavement improvements on Interstate 44 in Greene County.

"This is a good investment for one of the most traveled roads in our state," MoDOT Springfield District Engineer Kirk Juranas said in a news release from the office of U.S. Sen. Kit Bond. “The project also will boost the local economy, providing transportation industry jobs in materials and construction.”

Bond, who announced Friday that USDOT is releasing the funding, is the ranking member of the U.S. Senate appropriations subcommittee that funds transportation projects. The $1.9 million is in the fiscal 2009 Omnibus Appropriations bill signed into law last year.

The money will pay for improvements to I-44 between U.S. Highway 65 and Kansas Expressway; the news release said the pavement on that stretch of road "is in poor condition and causes many problems for Missouri drivers." The funding will pay for pavement replacement and shoulder improvements.