Negotiations continue with engineers chosen to draft a plan for a potential port on the Missouri River in Jefferson City, the Heartland Port Authority was told Thursday.
Earlier this month, the board signed an engineering contract with Barr Engineering, which has an office in Jefferson City. Barr Engineering will partner with Hanson Engineering, which has previous experience in port projects.
Last year, the Legislature approved and Gov. Mike Parson signed legislation transferring 116 acres of state-owned land just east of the Ike Skelton Training Facility to the Port Authority for the potential development of a port on the Missouri River.
On Thursday, Heartland Port Authority Board Chairman Roger Fischer said they had a five-hour meeting with the engineers last week to negotiate the scope of the work they will be doing and the costs. He said the work would include detailed environmental studies and studies of how roads could be built around the port.
The Port Authority has a $120,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and $100,000 from the Missouri Department of Transportation that can be used for the engineering work. The MoDOT funding needs to be used by June 15, while the USDA money doesn't have an expiration date.
Fischer said some of the board members have walked the perimeter of the port site to get an idea of what was there. Last month, the board was told by Parson's office it could access the proposed port site to conduct the needed studies.
Fischer said they are looking at ways to get cargo in and out of the port area and whether existing roads on the property can be used. The engineers have asked for information from a drone flyover of the property done last month. Fischer said the drone footage may also help to determine if a bridge would be needed over the Union Pacific Railroad to help with cargo access to the port site.
At Thursday's meeting, Fischer said new federal transportation grant programs might help with the funding for infrastructure at the port, but MoDOT officials said the Heartland Port hadn't yet reached the point to start applying for the grants.
Fischer urged the board to continue to push ahead, noting the price of fuel continues to rise. MoDOT officials agreed, saying one barge can carry a load equal to what 58 semi-trucks would haul on the highway.