A $2.13 million federal grant that would have gone toward improving Columbia’s Business Loop 70 has now been canceled.
The grant was part of a plan to develop a more welcoming gateway on the edge of Columbia by beautifying the street and increasing pedestrian safety.
A news release Monday from the Loop Community Improvement District called it a major project and indicated that it would be difficult to accomplish without federal support.
The plan had been a joint partnership with the district, the city and the Missouri Department of Transportation.
Carrie Gartner, the executive director of the Loop Community Improvement District, said the Loop is an important area in the city in need of maintenance.
“It’s a main street in Columbia, and it’s a major gateway into our city off of (Interstate) 70, and we are not putting our best foot forward with this street,” Gartner said.
Gartner said the project needed the grant in order to be “shovel ready” when they applied for a larger grant to develop the Loop.
The larger $25 million grant would fund the rest of the improvement project, but would involve a long application process with no guarantee of approval, making the planning process especially important.
“It’s very rare to be able to get a grant for $25 million unless you take this step,” she said.
Without the initial funding, Gartner said the plan going forward was to look for new federal grants. If that is unsuccessful, the district might look for ways to fund the project locally.
“Our goal is to work with the city to see if there are any transportation grants coming out of the new administration that would fit us,” Gartner said.
A separate federal grant Columbia is receiving for the Loop is still approved. The approved grant, which comes from the Safe Streets and Roads for All program, funds a road safety audit of Business Loop 70.
