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ST. LOUIS NEWS TODAY - Sunday, September 9, 2007
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Gov. Blunt Signs Bill to Dramatically Improve 24 Bridges in St. Louis Area
ST. LOUIS, MO (SLFP.com), September 9, 2007 - Gov. Matt Blunt has signed legislation paving the way to repair or replace more than 800 Missouri bridges by 2012. In the St. Louis area, 24 bridges are part of the Safe and Sound Bridges Program that Gov. Blunt and transportation officials unveiled last year. The Missouri bridge plan has become a national model for other states.
"The Safe and Sound Bridge Program will benefit Missourians in every region of the state by providing safer and better bridges," Gov. Matt Blunt said. "Our bridge improvement plan will repair or replace more than 800 Missouri bridges with an innovative and original approach to provide faster results. The plan we are enacting in Missouri has been touted as a national model to improve our transportation infrastructure."
Blunt signed the bill at the Delmar Boulevard Bridge over Interstate 170. The bridge was built in 1968 and carries around 19,000 vehicles on an average day. The bridge deck currently has an asphalt overlay to prevent further concrete deterioration. The Safe and Sound Bridge Program will ensure the deck can be rehabilitated to keep this critical artery to Clayton and University City open and safe.
"I want to thank Governor Blunt for signing this legislation and for making this project a priority in special session," Sen. Bill Stouffer said. "This Safe and Sound Bridge Project will touch every county in Missouri, but I am particularly pleased that our rural communities will see improvements to their bridges. As we have focused on improving our roads, our bridges have fallen behind and this innovative program will bring positive results for our communities by making our bridges easier to travel and safer for Missourians and visitors to our state."
"With this innovative new approach to transportation we will do in five years what would have taken us 20 before," Rep. Neal St. Onge said. "We are getting maximum value for taxpayers and keeping the public safe as well."
"I thank Gov. Blunt for his leadership on this issue. Bridge improvements are clearly a critical need for Missouri, so we are eager to get started on this ambitious program as soon as possible," said Missouri Department of Transportation Director Pete Rahn.
House Bill 2 is the result of the governor's call for a special legislative session. The bill addresses the need to improve and replace hundreds of Missouri bridges by allowing contractors to access the bonds needed for the projects. The bonds for the Safe and Sound Bridge Improvement Program will help protect the taxpayer by ensuring the work is completed by the contractors who fix and replace the bridges. Without this change, no contractors would have been able to obtain the required bonds, which would have stopped the program from moving forward.
Southern Illinois Power Cooperative Joins Prairie State Energy Campus Partner Group With a 125 Megawatt Commitment
ST. LOUIS, (SLFP.com), September 9, 2007 - The Prairie State Energy Campus today announced it has entered into an agreement with Southern Illinois Power Cooperative (SIPC) to purchase a 125 megawatt equity share of the project. Marion-based Southern Illinois Power Co-op serves members in 24 counties surrounding Prairie State, including Washington County where the plant is being developed.
"Prairie State is our hometown solution for additional clean energy from coal," said SIPC General Manager Tim Reeves. "Our members will benefit from a reliable, affordable supply of electricity, along with significant direct economic benefits through local job creation and spending as plant construction ramps up."
The project will provide baseload electricity to dozens of communities in Southern and Northern Illinois and will serve 1.7 million families from Missouri to Virginia. Prairie State's partner group includes: American Municipal Power-Ohio; Illinois Municipal Electric Agency; Indiana Municipal Power Agency; Kentucky Municipal Power Agency; Missouri Joint Municipal Electric Utility Commission; Northern Illinois Municipal Power Agency; and Prairie Power Inc.
"Prairie State continues to achieve major development milestones as we move quickly to groundbreaking in early October," said Peabody President of Generation and Btu Conversion Rick A. Bowen. "We have tremendous support from our ownership group, and Bechtel is on board as construction contractor. Our partners share our view that Prairie State is a new clean model for baseload power that is needed for our energy security."
Prairie State will create more than 450 permanent jobs and will annually inject nearly $100 million in economic benefits into the regional economy. The bulk of construction trades hiring is beginning this fall, and Prairie State will employ more than 2,000 workers when construction activity peaks in the second half of 2009. Units one and two are expected to come on line in 2011 and 2012.
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