Poplar Bluff approves supplemental cost-share agreements with MoDOT, reducing city's Highway 67 tab

The Poplar Bluff City Council voted Sept. 3 to authorize supplemental cost-share agreements with the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission that reduce the city's projected financial responsibility for the Highway 67 expansion.

City Manager Andrew Winters said the first supplemental agreement, for phases 1a and 1b, reduces the city's share of projected overruns from about $8,780,000 to $7,845,622 by using additional MoDOT funding. "In the original cost share agreement the city would have been responsible for all cost overruns, which it projected to have been about $8,780,000. With this supplemental agreement, MoDOT is sharing the cost of projected overruns, and the city's anticipated financial responsibility would be reduced to $7,845,622," Winters said.

On a separate supplemental agreement covering phase 2, Winters said the city's responsibility was previously estimated at more than $9.5 million and is now projected at $6,868,213. He said the final amounts will be determined after bids are opened.

The council moved both cost-share items from workshop to the voting session and subsequently adopted the ordinances authorizing the mayor to execute the agreements. Roll-call votes recorded seven yeses for the ordinances.

Why it matters: Highway 67 is a multi-phase expansion with regional transportation implications. Reducing the city's exposure to overruns can substantially affect Poplar Bluff's capital planning and the use of the Highway 67 dedicated tax.

What comes next: Bids for phases 1b and 2 are expected in the fall; the city will know final contract figures and its ultimate share when bids are opened and tabulated.