Gov. Jay Nixon has approved a $54.4 million Transportation Improvement Program for St. Joe, which will include $5 million for a levee control project at Rosecrans Memorial Airport.

“Maintaining public infrastructure is a responsibility we all share, and this levee flood control project will help protect the valuable assets at Rosecrans, as well as area farms and businesses near the Missouri River,” Gov. Nixon said. “I appreciate that the voters of Buchanan County gave their overwhelming support of this important public safety and economic development initiative to also help it move forward.

The plan was submitted to the Missouri Department of Transportation by the St. Joseph Area Transportation Study Organization.

This past August, local funding for the Buchanan County Levee Flood Control Project was approved by area voters, with more 77 percent voting in favor of the issue. The Transportation Improvement Program approved today by Gov. Nixon will put $5 million in general revenue from the State of Missouri into the project.

In May, the Governor was briefed at by local officials, business leaders, and representatives of the Missouri Air National Guard regarding efforts to protect Rosecrans and surrounding areas from flooding through improvements to area levees. Rosecrans Air National Guard Base is home to the 139th Airlift Wing, comprised of more than 1,200 Missouri Air National Guard men and women.

The Fiscal Year 2017 state budget signed by the Governor includes the $5 million in general revenue for repair and improvements to levees along the Missouri River to protect the base, as well as nearby farms and businesses in the St. Joseph region; that money is included in the TIP approved by Gov. Nixon.

Other items in the St. Joseph TIP made eligible for federal funding through the plan include another $8 million for other improvements around Rosecrans, more than $3 million for bicycle and pedestrian projects, nearly $15 million for road and bridge projects, and more than $21 million for transit projects.