Menu
Parson travels to Poplar Bluff to sign funding bill for I-57
POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — Gov. Mike Parson traveled to Poplar Bluff on Wednesday afternoon to sign a bill authorizing $150 million in new funds for Interstate 57. The funding will aid the ongoing effort to expand Highway 67 South into an interstate standard four lane thoroughfare.
“None of this happens without us all working together,” Parson remarked during the event, which was held at Haff Whiskey Saloon in Downtown Poplar Bluff.
The event was attended by the governor, Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe, state senators Lincoln Hough and Jason Bean, Missouri Speaker of the House Dean Plocher, state Rep. Hardy Billington, chairman of the Highway 67 Corporation Bill Robison and other state and local officials.
Also present were several counterparts in the Arkansas I-57 effort.
“One hundred fifty million dollars is historic,” Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce President Steve Halter told Robison.
He said the amount of funding allocated for the project is rare.
This is the exception to the rule, Parson noted.
“Team 57 has done an amazing job,” Robison affirmed.
Bean introduced each speaker and gave a history of the lengthy struggle to bring the interstate to Southeast Missouri.
“I’m so proud to represent the best people in Missouri,” he said.
Robison thanked Parson, Kehoe and Hough for their leadership in the latter stages of the project.
“These guys understood the vision for rural Missouri,” he added. “The support of these three men for this area is monumental.”
Robison praised the coordination of local officials like Halter, City Manager Matt Winters, Butler County Presiding Commissioner Vince Lampe, Poplar Bluff Mayor Shane Cornman and others.
“By enhancing our infrastructure, we are ensuring a more connected state,” Robison said.
Hough said the I-57 project has been a shining example of teamwork amid a sharply politically divided time.
“Too often in politics, we’re tearing each other apart,” he commented, “We are a whole lot better together.”
Kehoe added, “Screaming is easy. Governing is hard.”
He lauded the eventual status of Missouri as the nation’s transportation corridor.
“That’s what we’ll be known for,” Kehoe asserted.
Parson said the I-57 number designation has a special place in his heart. He pointed out he is the 57th governor of Missouri, won by 57% in the election, and his favorite football team won the 57th Super Bowl. The governor noted he has the number 57 tattooed on his arm.
Regarding the interstate, Parson joked, “I’m going to claim it for mine.”
When running for lieutenant governor, he recounted his promise to remember the people of Southeast Missouri.
“We’ve all been overlooked for too long,” Parson affirmed. “I wouldn’t forget you.”
The governor concluded, “You will be on the map.”