Locals celebrate Cooper/Howard port project

NEW FRANKLIN, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Port of Howard/Cooper County held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday morning to mark the completion of a "transformative" infrastructure project.

The port is on the bank of the Missouri River and sits across from Boonville. The construction of this port was just under $3 million and was paid for by grants from the Missouri Department of Transportation and the American Rescue Plan Act.

With the completion of this project, the Port of Howard/Cooper County is the only public port between St. Louis and Kansas City, said John Sponaugle, assistant director of the Howard and Cooper County Port Authority.

The Missouri waterway moves $4.1 billion worth of cargo every year. Kendall Kircher, president of the board of the Howard County Port Authority, said having this port will be great for the community and will lessen traffic in Boonville.

"All the grain come from this side of the river goes through town for" the MFA farmer cooperative, Kircher said. "Now, and anything that we put on a barge here ... a barge load of grain takes 55 semis off a road."

Kircher said transportation through the port is cheaper and cleaner.