Route 36 FourLaning

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US Route 36 extends across northern Missouri from the City of Hannibal at the Illinois State Line to the City of St. Joseph at the Kansas State Line. The 52-mile segment from Hannibal west to Macon was the last to be expanded from two to four lanes. The purpose of project was predominantly to improve safety by transforming the roadway into a divided highway and adding a lane to make passing safer. The project also reduced congestion along the parallel I-70, approximately 50 miles to south. The project's need had been identified for a number of years, but insufficient state funding prevented its construction. Four counties along the corridor turned to gaining voter approval to establish a Transportation Development District to collect an additional countywide half-cent sales tax dedicated to the project. Voters approved this sales tax district in 2005 and collection began in 2006. The District leveraged 15 years of anticipated tax revenue to secure a loan from the Missouri Transportation Finance Corporation, a state infrastructure bank, for roughly half the project cost. State funding would cover the remaining balance. The Missouri Department of Transportation completed the project's construction in mid-2010. The project has reduced the corridor's crash rate despite a 50 percent increase in traffic volume over ten years. Increased economic activity along the corridor has also resulted in the opening of a number of new businesses. Stronger than forecasted tax revenue collection allowed the District to repay the loan 3.5 years early and end the half-cent collection in July 2017.

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