CLARKSVILLE, Mo. — Congressman Sam Graves announced that the City of Clarksville will be receiving a $1.7 million Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant to construct a removable flood protection system along the Mississippi River to keep businesses open and operating while protecting historic downtown Clarksville. This EDA grant will be matched by $10 million in state funds.
“I’m thrilled to see the City of Clarksville receive the last piece of funding needed to begin work build on their movable flood wall project. With a movable flood wall, the community can finally protect themselves from future flooding, before it happens. For years, Mayor Jo Anne Smiley has worked tirelessly to see this project come to fruition and that day is finally in sight. I was proud to support the legislation back in 2019 that made this funding possible. I’m glad to see it awarded to Clarksville for this critical project,” said Rep. Sam Graves (MO-06). “I’m also grateful for the efforts of Governor Parson, the Missouri Department of Economic Development and state legislators to ensure that the rest of the funding needed was provided. Mayor Smiley, the City of Clarksville and the Mark Twain Council of Governments are to be commended for their hard work which will enable the city to not only survive, but thrive, for years to come.”
The EDA grant will be matched by $10 million in state funding. The project also received $695,310 in EDA Disaster Relief funding in 2019 to complete an engineering analysis to design the flood wall.
The project was made possible by the regional planning efforts led by the Mark Twain Regional Council of Governments (MTRCOG). EDA funds MTRCOG to bring together the public and private sectors to create an economic development roadmap to strengthen the regional economy, support private capital investment and create jobs.
This project is funded by the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act of 2019 (Pub. L. 116-20), which provided EDA with $600 million in additional Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA) Program funds for disaster relief and recovery for areas affected by the Flood of 2019, under the Robert T. Stafford Act. You can visit EDA’s Disaster Supplemental webpage for more information.