{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.mccaskill.senate.gov/media-center/latest-headlines/highway-96-bridge-project-proceeding-despite-state-budget-concerns-", "Highway 96 bridge project proceeding despite state budget concerns", "2016-10-26", "2016", "2016-10", "Democrat", "House", "MO", "Claire McCaskill", "M001170", "www.mccaskill.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Highway 96 bridge project proceeding despite state budget concerns  \r\n                \r\n            \r\n            \r\n                Wednesday, October 26, 2016\r\n            \r\n            \n\t\n\r\n            \r\n            \r\n                  \r\n                    By:\u00a0\r\n                    Koby Levin\r\n                \r\n            \r\n            \r\n                \r\n                \r\n                \r\n            CARTHAGE, Mo. \u2014 The City Council approved an agreement Tuesday night laying out plans for the replacement of the Highway 96 bridge in Carthage.\r\nThe Missouri Department of Transportation projects that the work will cost $3.6 million, paid for out of state\u2019s highway improvement program.\r\n\u201cIt\u2019s a huge deal for Carthage,\u201d council member Dan Rife said of the construction. \u201cNot only for general traffic flow, but because that\u2019s part of Route 66. You get all of the travelers wanting to drive that road, and detours make that less enjoyable for them. We\u2019re anxious to get it done as quick as we can.\u201d\r\nContractors could break ground on the project as early as March, according to Sean Matlock, transportation manager for MoDOT\u2019s Southwest District.\r\nMoDOT will cover the cost of decorative lighting on the new bridge, according to the agreement between the council and MoDOT\u2019s governing body.\r\nTom Short, Carthage city administrator, said at the council meeting that MoDOT crews will attempt to save the decorative balusters that are the current bridge\u2019s most distinctive feature. If they can be saved, the city will could sell them at auction.\r\nThe Highway 96 bridge over the railroad tracks northeast of downtown was closed to the public last month after a routine inspection found that it was deteriorating faster than engineers had expected. MoDOT was already planning to replace the bridge in 2017.\r\nWith conditions rated at 3 out of 10, the Highway 96 and Spring River spans are in worse shape than other bridges in Jasper County, according to a 2015 report from MoDOT.\r\nBut a number of bridges in the area don\u2019t lag far behind.\r\nEight structures in Jasper County received scores of 4, meaning MoDOT considers them to be in \u201ccritical condition.\u201d\r\nThough the Center Creek bridge on Interstate 44 at Sarcoxie is the only interstate bridge among the eight, but others see significant traffic. The KCS Railroad Bridge in Joplin sees an average of 27,000 cars every day, according to the report.\r\n\u201cWe\u2019re going to do our best to get (critical condition bridges) replaced,\u201d Matlock said. \u201cStatewide, we\u2019re replacing about 100 bridges every year that are in that condition 3 status, but we have about 100 more come on each year too. It\u2019s a perpetual problem, and with our current funding situation we can\u2019t seem to get ahead of that issue.\u201d\r\nA MoDOT report on its bridge and highway construction plans through 2021 notes that more than two-thirds of the department\u2019s budget comes from fuel taxes, which have not been raised at the state or federal level since the 1990s.\r\nThe project is part of $12 million in infrastructure funding that has been redirected to Jasper County after the passage of last year\u2019s federal transportation bill, according to Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., a supporter of the bill.\r\nIt included a provision that allowed states to repurpose earmarks \u2014 funds directed to a particular project \u2014 that had gone unused, McCaskill said.\r\n\u201cWhen lawmakers are able to steer pork-barrel spending to their pet projects, sorely needed infrastructure in our communities is often ignored in favor of those projects,\u201d she said in the statement. \u201cI\u2019m thrilled we\u2019ve been able to change this, so these leftover earmark funds can make a real difference to our communities like Jasper County that need and deserve it.\u201d\r\nOther business\r\nThe Carthage City Council approved an ordinance that matches the city\u2019s legal definition of recreational off-highway vehicles to the wording used in state law. With the passage of the ordinance, navigating the streets of Carthage on all-terrain vehicles and covered off-road vehicles is forbidden under both city and state law.\r\n            \r\n             \r\n            \r\n            \n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t  \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.mccaskill.senate.gov/media-center/latest-headlines/highway-96-bridge-project-proceeding-despite-state-budget-concerns-"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.395110972225666, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}