Infrastructure improvements in Houston continue to gain importance as the Houston City Council determines priorities in its budget.
In late April, five lanes of traffic opened on Sam Houston Blvd. to complete a long project with the Missouri Department of Transportation. Plans for the rest of the year call for the addition of sidewalks from near Corner Express on the west side of South Sam Houston Blvd. south to Walmart Supercenter. A majority of the work — 80 percent — comes from a grant secured by the city.
At the Houston Memorial Airport, additional hangars will be constructed. Under a MoDOT program administered for the FAA, the city is working with a Jefferson City firm to complete the project. The new space will join 10 occupied hangars constructed earlier near Airport Road and Spruce Street. Under the program, the grant will pay 90 percent of the cost.
Also on the city’s drawing board for 2017 and beyond:
• Continuing improvements at Rutherford Park on the western rim of the Houston Memorial Airport. The city’s soccer program is staged there. Up next are the addition of new workout equipment and equipment paid by Healthy Schools Healthy Communities, which is administered by the Texas County Health Department in a partnership with the Missouri Health Foundation.
• Extension of utilities accommodating new businesses south of Miller’s Grill off Millstone Road. Projects there include a recently completed restaurant and a new sporting goods store.
• Paving of streets totaling about $150,000. City residents pay a quarter-cent sales tax earmarked for street and sidewalk improvements.