FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
City, Partners celebrate Packer Road Expansion Project dedication Feb. 22
The City of Springfield, along with the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT), Prime Trucking, Inc., Ozarks Food Harvest, Springfield Chamber of Commerce and Rankin Development, gathered Feb. 22 at the MoDOT Garage (3025 E. Kearney St.) for a Partners in Progress celebration to dedicate the Packer Road Expansion Project.
The Packer Road Expansion Project began with an identified safety issue on E. Kearney Street caused by the offset alignment of Packer Road to the south and the MoDOT Southwest District office drive to the north. The need for this intersection improvement created an opportunity for area businesses to partner with the City to expand the road north to improve vehicle access and provide for future business expansion and economic development opportunities.
The project included an adjusted street alignment, a new intersection with traffic signal and turn lanes, and the three-lane expansion of Packer Road north of Kearney Street.
Aided by the extension of Packer Road, Prime Trucking, Inc. has begun the expansion of its Springfield headquarters with a 60,000 square foot plaza and driver training facility, truck wash facility and three additional parking areas.
The project at Packer Road also benefits the expansion plans of Ozarks Food Harvest who, with the help of the City, has applied for a Missouri Department of Finance Board Tax Credits for Contributions program. Through this program Ozarks Food Harvest recently unveiled plans to construct much-needed warehouse space to expand the capacity of their existing facility by an additional 56,000 square feet.
Through the project at Packer, new access was provided to Developer Tom Rankin’s North Creek Development at Jean Street and Packer Road.
The total cost of the project was approximately $3.3 million with the City’s investment totaling $1.5 million. The City’s portion was funded through the 1/8-cent Transportation and ¼-cent Capital Improvement Sales Taxes.
For more information, contact Communication Coordinator Kristen Milam at (573) 819-3713 or [email protected].