MoDOT approves five-year, $6B plan

Due to the redirection of Amendment 3 dollars, the department transitions from an average $1.23 billion annual construction program to about $575 million for construction projects in 2013, according to a MoDOT news release.

The 2009–13 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program, which kicked in July 1 and runs through June 30, 2013, lists all transportation projects planned by state and regional planning agencies.

The bulk of the funding – $4.35 billion – is earmarked for about 730 highway and bridge projects. About $810 million is slated for other transportation modes and another $640 million will go toward local transportation programs.

Officials say only $300 million covers new construction projects, because Amendment 3 money – an expected $190 million this year – will go toward paying off MoDOT’s $2 billion in construction bonds. In 2004, voters amended the state constitution to earmark all sales tax revenue on new vehicles, as well as other vehicle user fees, for MoDOT usage.

Among the list of 13 new Amendment 3-funded projects under the new program are adding passing lanes on U.S. Highway 60 between Republic and Monett and making capacity improvements on U.S. Highway 65 between Battlefield Road and Chestnut Expressway.

“We have seen great progress due to Amendment 3,” MoDOT Director Pete Rahn said in the release. “Missouri must now have a conversation about what is to come regarding continued improvements to our transportation system.”

Several funding proposals never made it to a general vote in the last legislative session.

The Missouri Transportation Development Council is sponsoring a series of summits across the state to discuss MoDOT’s funding issue. The final installment is scheduled for 10 a.m. Sept. 8 in the Plaster Student Union auditorium on the campus of Missouri State University in Springfield.

Rahn, who’s also president of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, discusses transportation funding – the national crisis and Missouri’s situation – on a YouTube video. Click here to view the video.

In building its case for more funding, MoDOT has identified that its annual construction program on average creates more than 9,000 new jobs and contributes nearly $900 million to the state’s economy. Specifically, officials say MoDOT construction and repair work generates $16.2 million in general revenues and $332.5 million in personal income.[[In-content Ad]]