 | Blake Benson is the President of the Pittsburg Area Chamber of Commerce. The Pittsburg Area Chamber of Commerce welcomes your thoughts and ideas on how to make our community even more special. Feel free to call at (620) 231-1000, visit them on the web at www.pittsburgareachamber.com, or drop by the office at 117 West Fourth Street. |
Chamber of Commerce
2011-07-01 08:19:00
What’s new at the Chamber?
Answer: One of the chamber’s top longtime priorities took a significant step forward on June 1, 2011, as close to 100 regional business, government and community leaders joined Kansas Governor Sam Brownback and Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) Secretary Deb Miller to unveil those projects in the southeast region of the state to be included in the state’s new T-Works plan. This plan will pump approximately $190 million into Southeast Kansas via eight different major highway projects, including a $47 million upgrade of Highway 69 from Fort Scott to Arma.
The state will build an upgradeable expressway on this stretch of Highway 69, which will only leave six miles of two-lane road between Pittsburg and Kansas City. Area leaders have long touted the economic development possibilities associated with a four-lane connecting Pittsburg with the bustling Kansas City area. The announcement will also help further nurture Pittsburg State University’s recruitment from the Kansas City area and will ensure that students, friends and families traveling Highway 69 will have access to a safer, more modern roadway.
The chamber wishes to thank Governor Brownback, Secretary Miller and the Kansas legislature for their investment in southeast Kansas and the Pittsburg area. The chamber also thanks all those local and regional leaders who have championed this cause for the better part of a decade. The announcement is a major step in the chamber’s longtime goal of a four-lane Highway 69 from Kansas City to Interstate 44.
