Plans to revitalize Business Loop 70 in Columbia are back on, just days after federal grant funding for the project had been pulled.
On Monday, Loop Community Improvement District officials posted a news release saying that a $2.1 million federal grant had been canceled, a decision that put the entire $25 million project in jeopardy.
The project is a joint partnership with the district, the city and the Missouri Department of Transportation. It's an effort to make Business Loop 70 safer for pedestrians and a more aesthetically pleasing gateway to the city.
On Thursday, officials from the district announced on The Loop website that the funding had been restored.
"The City of Columbia has been given the green light on the $2.13 million Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods Grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to fund a planning study for the Business Loop," they said in the post online.
Carrie Gartner, the district's executive director, explained that the grant is back because the organization has already hired a consultant for the project. She said she was told that because the federal money had already been obligated, it would not be taken back.
"I definitely think we are ready to go," Gartner said in a phone interview. "The firm is ready to go. They've been on board for months now, and they've just been in a holding pattern."
Gartner said the city's Public Works staff has been helpful in keeping the project on course.
"They know this is kind of our shot, so they've been great to work with," she said.
This wasn't the first time that funding for the project was taken away, only to be given back. In January, the same grant was frozen by the federal government amid a freeze on funds related to diversity, equity and inclusion — only to be unfrozen in March.
Gartner is excited to move forward with the project.
"The sooner we can get it started, the better, but I think we're done with kind of holding back and waiting," she said. "We really want to just jump right in."
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