WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, praised the City of Durant for being awarded an Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant of $1.5 million to expand local surface transportation infrastructure and support the relocation of Commercial Metals, a global steel company, to Durant.

“EDA's $1.5 million grant is being given to Durant in recognition for the hard work of city leaders to attract new economic opportunities to the area,” Inhofe said. “This grant will help to improve a section of US 70 currently deemed in critical condition while also making routes more efficient for new business opportunities. As a result, the city will be more competitive in attracting new businesses like Commercial Metals’ new operations, which will create 200 jobs in Durant and generate $342 million in private investments. Any businesses looking to locate to Durant will find an engaged and supportive local community, as seen in their pursuit of this grant to improve the city’s infrastructure.”

The grant would provide funding to construct on/off ramps (eastbound and westbound) to and from U.S. Highway 70 at Old East Main Street in Durant. More specifically, the project will help provide adequate transportation routes in the Durant area.  Currently, traffic traveling through Durant on US 70 must negotiate two ninety-degree turns within downtown Durant. This section of US 70 through downtown Durant is a four-lane, shouldered roadway with numerous street and driveway connections and is rated by the 1997 US 70 Feasibility Study as tolerable.  The sections of US 70 on the outskirts of town are two-lane and the shouldered roadway has numerous street and driveway connections and is rated by the 1997 Feasibility Study as critical and/or inadequate.  Since the completion of the 1997 Feasibility Study, the 2001 Needs Study and Sufficiency Rating Report prepared by ODOT rates this current segment of US 70 extending through Durant as critical. 

The City estimates that the EDA investment could result in the creation of 200 jobs and the generation of $342,000,000 private investment when Commercial Metals builds its new micro-mill in Durant.  The first year employee payroll is anticipated to be $10.5 million, including an average annual salary of $60,000. 

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