Gov. Mike Parson vetoed funds Friday that would have studied the expansion of U.S. 63 in the state. The major traffic artery runs through Texas County.
Parson signed off on a $51 billion state budget but axed more than 200 pet projects inserted into the spending plan by lawmakers.
Left intact was money for the long-sought widening of Interstate 70 across Missouri’s midsection, as well as additional spending on childcare and disabled residents.
Parson vetoed $28 million to study a widening of Interstate 44, as well as similar projects seeking to improve traffic flow near Hannibal and on U.S. Route 63 through south-central Missouri. They had been inserted into the spending blueprint to win votes from rural lawmakers who don’t represent districts near I-70. Sen. Karla Eslinger, who represents this area, had placed the money in the budget.