The city of Mexico has leveraged more than $8 million of federal funding for many projects, including stormwater and transportation.

City Public Work Director Drew Williford told the Ledger last week the city has two different grants, one through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT).

The bigger of the two is the stormwater and sidewalk projects through the DNR grants which will be broken up into several projects that range in size from small culvert replacements to larger projects like curb and stormwater facilities on Curtis and Kentucky streets. Lakeview Drive also has a big project.

Because of the size and scope of the projects combined the city has opted to go with two engineering firms to design the projects. One firm has already been selected and approved through the DNR process while the second firm is currently going through the same process. Williford hopes to have the second firm wrapped up so the city council can take action this month.

“At that point, both consultants approved it’s off to the races,” Williford said. 

Williford said he hopes construction can begin in the last quarter of 2023 but at the latest the beginning of 2024. The city will have about two years to complete the projects before DNR closes the grant. 

One of the biggest concerns with the project is the size and scope in such a short period. Williford said this project is atypical for Mexico. Under normal conditions, these projects would be occurring over a 10 to 20-year period but will be done in less than two years. Williford said contractors are currently staffed at normal levels and this much of a workload could lead to increased costs for the city.

“We’re keeping that at the forefront here and trying to move forward quickly so that we get ahead of the curve on all of this,” Williford said.

There is also some concern on the consulting side as well but not as much as the contracting side from Williford’s perspective. However, that is one of the factors in going with two engineering firms.

The other factor is speed. Williford said with two firms projects can be approved more quickly and at a smaller scope. Williford believes this will allow smaller contractors to bid on more projects, whereas bidding out multi-million dollar projects would limit the pool. He hopes that will also help stymie the chances of increased costs.

“Smaller contractors end up having bonding issues,” Williford said. 

The other grant through MoDOT will help the city replace some bridges that have had their weight restrictions reduced because of deterioration. In total the city will spend just under $700,000 on the projects while getting the federal government to about $8 million. Williford said that for every $1 spent by the city, it will receive back $11.52 of matching funds.