Committee backs concept to extend four lanes on Highway 47 with MoDOT cost‑share

The Franklin County Transportation Committee on Monday voted to support a city proposal to pursue Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) cost‑share and federal Surface Transportation Program (STP) funding to extend four lanes on Highway 47 about 4,000 feet south of Washington’s city limits.

Committee members were briefed on the corridor study and a package of funding options the city plans to pursue, including a MoDOT 50/50 cost‑share application this summer and a February 2026 STP application that could reduce the city's local match. MoDOT currently lists roughly $76 million for Highway 47 improvements in its statewide program with construction tentatively set for fiscal 2028.

The city’s preliminary cost estimate for the 4,000‑foot segment is between $10 million and $12 million; the presentation included a 20 percent contingency and 4 percent annual inflation assumptions. Under the scenario presented, a successful 50/50 cost‑share would make the city responsible for roughly $6 million of that segment. If the city then obtains STP funding to cover 80 percent of the city’s 50 percent share, the remaining local obligation could shrink to approximately $550,000; the city proposes splitting that remaining local share 50/50 with Franklin County.

Officials said the funding strategy would not alter MoDOT’s larger $76 million corridor allocation but would add outside federal and MoDOT cost‑share dollars to finance the local 4,000‑foot extension, effectively guaranteeing that specific segment is built while allowing the statewide allocation to serve the rest of the corridor.

Committee members discussed schedule and design uncertainty: the study is ongoing, right‑of‑way and final design have not been completed, and the corridor study will present more precise recommendations and estimates in mid to late summer. Even so, the city argued that using a cost‑share approach would accelerate construction of the local segment and capture economies of scale with the larger corridor project.

After the briefing a committee member moved to approve the concept; the committee voted in favor by voice vote. The motion directs staff to continue coordinating with MoDOT and Franklin County and to submit the 50/50 cost‑share application and pursue subsequent STP funding under the timeline described.

Next steps identified in the briefing include securing a written intergovernmental agreement with Franklin County on the local match split, preparing the 50/50 application for the MoDOT cost‑share program (quarterly application deadlines were discussed), and, if successful, preparing an STP application in February 2026.