A slate of improvements is still in the works for Interstate 44 in Springfield, despite a veto of a $28 million budget item by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson.
The 2024-2028 State Transportation Improvement Program, or STIP, lays out Missouri Department of Transportation projects planned around the state in the coming years, including projects around Springfield and along I-44.
For about two years now, I-44 has been the No. 1 priority for the Ozarks Transportation Organization, and a top priority for other stakeholders in the region. The OTO is a federally designated planning organization that facilitates cooperative decision-making between different government agencies on transportation projects.
Many of the projects are funded through a “jumbled up” formula, with federal and state money and allocations from Springfield and Greene County, according to the Ozarks Transportation Organization’s executive director Sara Fields. Some projects remain unfunded.
The $28 million allocation, which was spearheaded by Rep. Bill Owen, R-Springfield, and seen as essential to accelerate the multi-pronged project, was ultimately among budget vetoes announced by the Republican governor on June 30. In a recent Springfield speech, Parson pushed back on criticism he received for the veto, and highlighted what has been funded for I-44, and other infrastructure projects around Springfield.
In its STIP plan, MoDOT has multiple projects for I-44 in Springfield, which have been funded, including a widening of the interstate highway between Kansas Expressway and U.S. Highway 65, interchange improvements at Kansas Expressway and bridge replacements.
Work set to begin in 2025
The first of two widening projects will begin in 2025, between Glenstone Avenue and Highway 65, according to MoDOT Southwest District planning manager Frank Miller. Additionally in 2025, MoDOT will replace the North Farm Road 127 bridge — known as the Melville bridge, located over I-44 between Kansas Expressway and West Bypass.
In 2026, MoDOT will replace the I-44 bridges over National Avenue, Grant Avenue and Broadway Avenue, add aesthetic improvements and pedestrian connections around the bridges, and continue widening I-44.
The Kansas Expressway interchange project has been split up into four phases, with only the first phase funded.
In 2027, workers will begin that first phase. A contractor will build a flyover ramp from southbound Kansas Expressway to eastbound I-44, and build a tunnel for Norton Road under Kansas Expressway. In addition, sound walls will also be constructed in 2027 along I-44 in Springfield.
Between all of the projects with funding secure, Fields said Springfield drivers should anticipate three or four years of construction, which could have been shortened if the government agencies involved had all of the money “up front.”
“So the major goal was, one, to have a cohesive surface, and two, to not have to be out there every seven years putting construction zones, which are a hotbed of accidents,” Fields said.
Future phases of the Kansas Expressway and I-44 interchange work include reconfiguring and extending the off-ramp from westbound I-44 onto northbound Kansas Expressway.
Fields said the Ozarks Transportation Organization is “significantly short” on funds for the full interchange improvements — by about $35 million. Previously, the widening of I-44 and Kansas Expressway interchange improvements was estimated to cost about $120 million.
“What we have asked for the $28 million dollars for was specifically to complete the project as a whole,” Fields said.
While the veto from the governor may have slowed the project, Fields is encouraged by the $20 million that was approved for an environmental study along the entirety if I-44 in Missouri. However, the study’s completion is not necessary for a contractor to move forward with improvements in Springfield, in which more focused environmental studies have been done, Fields said.
Even with I-44 being the priority, Fields said it’s a “balancing act” in trying to acquire additional funding while also trying to move forward with other projects. The Ozarks Transportation Organization remains in contact with Springfield area legislators who can continue to work on the OTO’s behalf in Jefferson City.
