KELSO -- After eight years of hard work, city officials finally broke ground Thursday for a sewer construction project.

About 40 Kelso residents watched as members of the Board of Trustees shoveled dirt near Messmer Street and U.S. Highway 61.

Board of Trustee Chairman Georgia Carman said the town has been waiting for this project to begin.

"In 1987 we started the project and we are just now realizing it," she said.

The $1.4 million construction project is being financed through a grant from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the state revolving fund loan.

"It's critical for health and economic reasons," she said.

John Conklin, former board chairman, said residents have waited patiently for the project.

"We needed it, the board knew it and talked to the people," he said.

Conklin was chairman when the project began. He said it took eight years for Kelso to work its way up the grant application system.

Work on the sewer project is expected to be complete in a year.