Sullivan County Road Projects Included in New MoDOT Five-Year Plan

Sullivan County is set to see more than $3.1 million in highway work move toward construction under Missouri’s newly approved 2027- 2031 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program, with an additional multi-county bridge rehabilitation project also including Sullivan County.

The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission approved the five-year STIP on July 1. The plan lists transportation projects planned by state and regional planning agencies from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2031. Statewide, the STIP makes available $13 billion in federal and state revenue for all modes of transportation, including $9.3 billion in contractor awards for road and bridge construction.

The STIP is MoDOT’s five-year road map for transportation improvements. It is considered a fiscally constrained plan, meaning projects listed for construction are tied to funding MoDOT expects to have available. MoDOT works with planning partners across the state to identify needs, set priorities and determine which projects can be funded.

For readers, the key distinction is between projects listed in the highway and bridge construction schedule and those still in the scoping and design stage. MoDOT says scoping and design projects are potential future projects and are not commitments to build. Only projects in the construction schedule represent a commitment by MoDOT to build.

One project is listed directly under Sullivan County in the approved highway and bridge construction schedule.

MoDOT lists a $3.119 million pavement resurfacing project on Business 5, along with Route E in Milan. The project also includes Route 129 from Route 11 to Route 36 in Linn County. The project covers 23.31 miles and is scheduled for a 2028 award, with construction funding programmed in the 2028-29 fiscal year.

A separate multi-county bridge rehabilitation project also includes Sullivan County. That project covers various routes and bridges in Daviess, Grundy, Harrison, Linn, Mercer, Putnam and Sullivan counties. MoDOT lists the total project cost at $1.654 million, with an award date of September 2026 and construction funding programmed in the 2026-27 fiscal year.

Together, the project listed under Sullivan County and the multi-county bridge project represent about $4.773 million in construction-schedule work affecting Sullivan County, though the bridge rehabilitation total is shared across several counties.

The STIP also includes one scoping and design project that appears to affect the Sullivan County area, although it is listed under Grundy County. That project calls for scoping pavement improvements on Route 6 from No Creek to Route 5 south of Milan and from Route 5 east of Milan to west of Green City. The future cost range is listed at $10.001 million to $15 million.

Because that Route 6 project is listed in the scoping and design section, it is not yet approved for construction. It would have to move through further planning, prioritization and selection before being added to a future construction schedule.