93.9 The Eagle – The News and Talk of Columbia, MO
Missouri’s largest business organization is praising the state’s $2.8 billion plan to rebuild and six-lane I-70 from Wentzville to Blue Springs. Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Dan Mehan tells 939 the Eagle that it’s historic.
“I-70 is the beltway for the country and it started in Missouri and it’s been far too long since we invested back in it,” Mehan says.
The I-70 project will start in Boone County. Chamber president Mehan says the project will have major economic benefits. He’s praising state lawmakers on both sides of the aisle for supporting the bill, and praises GOP Governor Mike Parson for signing it.
“When the Legislature did that, they put a mark for Missouri for the rest of the country saying we will be the logistics and distribution center for not just the region but for the nation and for the continent,” says Mehan.
Numerous state lawmakers from across Missouri joined the governor at the August Columbia bill-signing ceremony. GOP State Reps. Cheri Toalson Reisch (R-Hallsville), Kent Haden (R-Mexico) and Tim Taylor (R-Speed) attended, along with House Assistant Minority Floor Leader Richard Brown (D-Kansas City) Democratic State Reps. Doug Mann, David Tyson Smith and Kathy Steinhoff (all D-Columbia).
