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Washington council agrees to pursue state cost‑share for Highway 47 improvements
Summary
City staff and council discussed partnering with MoDOT and Franklin County to pursue state 50/50 cost‑share and federal funds to extend four lanes on Highway 47 south of Washington; staff will draft an intergovernmental agreement and pursue applications that could reduce the city's local match, contingent on later federal/state awards.
City of Washington staff told the City Council on April 20 that the city will move forward with pursuing state and federal partnerships to extend Highway 47 south of the city and to secure design input on how the roadway is widened.
Staff member Charles said the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) already has roughly $76,000,000 allocated for improvements along the 47 corridor and that construction is tentatively scheduled in MoDOT's 2028 fiscal year. "They've got 76,000,000 allocated for the project; construction is set for the fiscal year of 2028," Charles said during the meeting.
The city described a multi-step strategy: apply for MoDOT's 50/50 cost‑share program (which could add about $5–6 million to the corridor funding), then apply to East‑West Gateway for federal Surface Transportation Program (STP) funds that could cover up to 80% of the remaining local share. Staff estimated the total incremental scope for the city (the segment the city would seek to influence) at about $10–12 million; with the layered funding approach the city's net local exposure could drop to roughly 20% of that amount (an estimated $1.0–1.2 million), and the city asked Franklin County to split that local match 50/50 with the city.
Charles told the council the 50/50 cost‑share application deadlines are quarterly (the next application window cited at the meeting was July) and that East‑West Gateway STP applications are submitted in February 2026 with staff recommendations in May 2026; any award from STP funds would be decided later in 2026. Charles emphasized that the city could withdraw from the commitment at several points if subsequent funding rounds did not materialize.
Mayor James D. Hagedorn and council members raised questions about sequencing, regional coordination and precedent from other municipalities. Councilmember Jeff Patke and other members asked whether nearby cities would pursue parallel applications; staff said Union and St. Clair had not yet brought similar proposals to MoDOT and that early engagement could help secure additional state and federal dollars for the corridor. Staff also said pursuing the cost‑share could give the city more influence over design of an East‑West Parkway intersection and the alignment of future city limits.
City staff recommended drafting an intergovernmental agreement with Franklin County to outline roles and conditions for pursuing the 50/50 cost‑share and subsequent STP application. The council signaled general agreement and staff said it would begin preparing the intergovernmental agreement and the cost‑share application.
Why this matters: pursuing the 50/50 cost share and STP funding could increase the total funds available for the Highway 47 corridor, lower the city's direct construction costs and give Washington a stronger voice in how the state designs the segment immediately south of city limits. Staff cautioned the plan depends on state and federal awards and on any intergovernmental agreements with Franklin County.
Provenance: the Highway 47 discussion began when staff introduced the corridor funding and timeline and concluded when the council signaled consensus for staff to proceed. Topic introduction and end in the meeting transcript are represented in the provenance below.
"They've got 76,000,000 allocated for the project; construction is set for the fiscal year of 2028," — City staff member Charles (transcript excerpt).
