Phelps County will be without $71,279 of federal funding designated for bridge work.

It is a consequence of a $8.7 billion rescission provision in the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act (SAFETEA) of 2005. In Missouri, the cancellation of funds amounted to more than $202 million.

 “It is putting major projects out of our reach unless it is restored,” Presiding County Commissioner Randy Verkamp said after the rescission was officially announced by the Missouri Department of Transportation on Tuesday.

Verkamp added the county usually takes several years to accumulate funds for larger projects, and with the federal government halting those funds, accumulation would be at a stand-still.

In 2005, when the original authorization bill was enacted, there was a future rescission provision added to encourage cost reduction.

When the SAFETEA bill elapsed, the provision was not rescinded, despite protest from the National Governors Association, which issued a letter to party leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.