The City of Mount Pleasant is seeking financial assistance from the state’s Transportation Commission. Craig Markley is the director of the Iowa Department of Transportation Office of Systems Planning. He says Mount Pleasant has submitted a Revitalize Iowa’s Sound Economy, or RISE, application to finance the extension of East Savanna Street by over 600 feet to the west.

Markley says the RISE program covers 80% of the cost of a project that is tied to a business planning to create new jobs. He explains that in this case 50% of the project’s cost would be covered, because there has only been speculation that new jobs would be created by extending the street to open up space for professional offices.

According to Markley, two cents out of every gallon of gas sold in the state goes into the RISE fund, which makes $12 million available to cities and $6 million to counties every year.

The commission is expected to consider Mount Pleasant’s request at their meeting today.