(This article comes courtesy of Alisa Nelson of MissouriNet.)
The Missouri Legislature’s state budget proposal includes $727 million to widen Interstate 44 to six lanes in Springfield, Joplin, and Rolla.
Gov. Mike Parson appears to be leaning towards vetoing some of the requested funding.
“Yeah, I think there has to be some discussion on that,” said Parson. “You know, it takes a long time to get these interstates ready for six lanes, so there’s a lot of little things that have to go into play before you can ever do it. So, we’ve got to analyze that and see what’s really practical that we can do now.”
How much is unknown. The deadline for Parson to make up his mind on the budget requests is the end of this month.
“We’ll get it figured out. But the vast majority of money will still go to (interstate) 44,” Parson told reporters during an I-70 groundbreaking ceremony.
The legislature’s state operating budget proposal is about $51.7 billion – roughly $1 billion less than Parson’s budget wish list.
