An update on Highway 54 plans and information on the Vandalia clinic project were among topics discussed at the Audrain Municipalities meeting Sept.15 at the Benton City Community Building.

Officials from Audrain County as well as cities in the county meet a few times a year to discuss various issues of public interest. The group last gathered in June and will meet again in January in Mexico.

At the Sept. 15 meeting, Sarah Graff, director of special projects for U.S. Rep. Sam Graves (6th District), appeared at the meeting, as did Devyn Campbell, fiscal officer and a community planner  from Mark Twain Regional Council of Governments. Katie Swaim, special projects manager for the Audrain County Health Department, also spoke at the meeting, informing attendees about the Vandalia clinic. 

Graff has worked on a number of Audrain County projects over the years, Audrain Presiding Commissioner Alan Winders said. Highway 54 falls under special projects, Graff said, and her job requires her to work on appropriations and grants and “special topics that need extra attention and might not fit exactly in a certain budget.” She serves on Moberly’s city council.

She said Congress is “super busy” from now until the end of the year, and she said lawmakers have to get government funding finished before a government shutdown kicks in. She doesn’t think that will happen, but she said “it seems like every time I make a prediction the opposite happens. So we’ll keep our eye on that.” The deadline for funding the government is Sept. 30.

Graves serves as chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and he is working on a surface transportation bill this fall and Graff hopes that bill will get to the full House at the end of the year.

“So, obviously MoDOT has a big (stake) in that,” he said.

Graff, who has announced a run for state Senate, said the National Defense Authorization Act needs to be reauthorized by the end of the year. She also discussed how Graves was able to secure the nearly $25 million grant for the Highway 54 project this year that will widen the road by making it a shared four-lane highway. 

A Graves office news release in July stated the $24.892 million BUILD (Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development) Grant will widen an approximately 14-mile segment of U.S. Route 54 from a two-lane roadway to a shared four-lane configuration (alternating passing lane) between Farber and Curryville. The project also includes improvements at the intersection of U.S. Route 54 and MO 154 and utility relocations, the release stated.  

Because of the complexity of the project’s logistics, County Engineer Brian Haeffner, who attended the meeting, said it would be several years before people see construction on the roadway because of the time required to complete the design and acquire right of way.

Winders said the reason the highway would be a shared four-lane rather than a four-lane was because of cost, as a four-lane would cost twice as much, and it would require the acquisition of a lot of property.  

“We can do the shared four for the most part inside the footprint of Highway 54 now - for the most part,” he said. “There'll be some places where some property is taken but nothing like an actual full, four lane.”

Swaim said the ACHD does perform, among other services, satellite clinics and provides WIC services in Vandalia. She said with this opportunity to have a new building in Vandalia, it “will hopefully help us expand in the near future more services that we provide in the eastern area of the county.” 

In August, ACHD announced the signing of a new lease agreement with the Audrain County Commission and the city of Mexico to occupy the former Vandalia Medical Clinic located at 204 W. Washington St. ACHD currently uses the Lange building in Vandalia for its satellite clinics. 

“The city has been wonderful to work with in letting us use that building, but being able to use our own will allow us to get in there more, schedule our own time rather than having to make sure that building is available,” Swaim said, noting ACHD representatives currently have to load and unload essential components when they visit there.

Swaim said the plan is for ACHD to be in the building by late fall or by the end of the year.

Also at the meeting, Associate County Commissioner Leslie Meyer gave an update on the Rural Leaders of Economic Mobility program, including the Supervised Agricultural Experience grants established for three school districts located in the county. Rural county leaders from across the country will attend a four-day peer exchange in Audrain County this week and tour various entities, such as schools and businesses, here as part of the RLEM program.