Funding Announced for 160 Railroad Overpass in West Plains

Congressman Jason Smith was in West Plains on Saturday afternoon to announce a $2.5 million grant in Community Development Block Grant funds (CDBG) from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that will support the construction of a railroad overpass on U.S. Highway 160 and Independence Drive, replacing an at-grade railway and highway intersection. 

Joined by local and state-level dignitaries at the newly openly administrative facility for Leonardo DRS, Congressman Smith commended the City of West Plains for their perseverance in their determination to complete this project. 

Earlier at the event, City Administrator Tom Stehn described the eleven attempts at securing funding for the construction of the overpass that began in 2008. According to Stehn, the overpass is a project with huge significance for public safety. In 2017, the massive flooding in West Plains confirmed that this crossing can easily separate schools on one side of the tracks from the emergency service available to the west. 

State Representative and West Plains native David Evans took to the podium to share how much this funding of this particular project means to him personally. Evans’ father, the late Mayor Joe Evans, put this overpass on a list of final things to accomplish, the younger Evans shared. 

“This overpass was near the top of his list of critical things to do at the end of his career,” Evans said, “Dad, this is for your city. Check this off your list.”