Money for the Road: Legislators, transportation leaders visit Springfield to solve MoDOT funding crisis

About 45 people turned out Sept. 8 for a Transportation Funding Summit held in Springfield on the Missouri State University campus and presented by the Missouri Transportation and Development Council, a division of Associated Industries of Missouri.

The state’s impending funding crunch stems from a variety of issues. Among the problems: Payments must begin next summer on the $2 billion in bonds issued under Amendment 3, and state gas-tax receipts are decreasing because fuel consumption statewide has dropped each of the last two years and is only 3 percent higher than 2003 levels.

Funding solutions discussed this year during a series of transportation summits statewide include additional taxes and toll roads. Additional meetings are planned in Jefferson City, St. Charles and Troy.

Work to be done

District Engineer Kirk Juranas said the Missouri Department of Transportation has five priorities: maintaining and repairing roads and bridges; providing alternative modes of transportation; rebuilding and expanding interstates 70 and 44; beginning other major projects around the state; and meeting regional road needs.

Juranas said the ability to complete those five priorities is in jeopardy because of the impending funding gap, which he said could be as much as $900 million a year.

The most pressing priority from the state level is improvements to interstates 70 and 44, which see 25 million miles of travel a day in Missouri – the equivalent of 1,000 trips around the earth. Juranas noted that 90 percent of the state’s population lives within 10 miles of one of those two highways.

State Sen. Bill Stouffer, R-Napton, who chairs the Senate Transportation Committee, echoed those sentiments.

He said that many improvements have been made to the state highway system – median guard cables, rumble strips and brighter lines cut highway fatalities by 161 between 2005 and 2006 – but more needs to be done.

“The interstate system is in good condition, but we haven’t added capacity in 50 years,” Stouffer said.

The biggest issue is growth in commercial truck traffic, which makes up 25 percent of Missouri interstate traffic and is expected to comprise 50 percent by 2030.

MoDOT’s preliminary plan for 44 and 70 is to add dedicated truck lanes running the length of the state, a project that would cost an estimated $7.2 billion over a 20-year period.

The department also has identified a list of 46 “major projects” statewide that would cost an additional $5.32 billion during the same 20-year period.

Funding the work

While most everyone who spoke at the Sept. 8 summit agreed that solving the funding issue would require contributions from Missouri residents, how to obtain the money is undecided.

Sales tax was one option suggested. Stouffer sponsored a bill in the last legislative session to create a 1-cent sales tax with a 10-year sunset, which would generate an estimated $7.3 billion in revenue during the period.

He also said taxpayer money would be used wisely; he noted that 2007 MoDOT projects came in 7.4 percent under budget, and the state’s $1,990 in administrative costs per mile of pavement are the fourth-lowest in the country. The national average is $8,600 per mile.

Missouri Transportation and Development Council lobbyist Christen Jackson presented another possibility – abolishing the state’s current 17-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax in favor of a 2-cent general sales tax to fund roadwork.

She said the idea would help reduce the state’s dependence on gas tax money for transportation funding, which is especially important if the movement toward non-automotive travel options continues to decrease gas tax revenue.

“We need to back another plan, not just gas tax, to fund our multimodal programs,” said Jackson, who also is public relations director for Associated Industries of Missouri. “We think of transportation being roads … but there are a lot of other issues to consider.”

Taking a toll

Aside from new taxes, toll roads also are in the mix.

David Stokes, a policy analyst with the Show-Me Institute, touted the benefits of public-private partnerships, including privately operated toll roads, to fund new projects.

He said that while Missouri has not used a public-private partnership to build a toll road, the state does have an active toll facility – the Lake of the Ozarks Community Bridge, which is publicly owned – and has used partnerships in numerous projects across the state, including the Safe and Sound Bridges program.

“We’re not saying every road in Missouri suddenly needs to be tolled – that’s not what Missourians want or need,” Stokes said. “But there is nothing that should prevent MoDOT and the people of Missouri from addressing some of our transportation needs through public-private partnerships.”

The advantage of using a partnership to fund a toll road, Stokes added, is that it would not require a statewide vote; the Missouri Constitution prevents state-controlled roads from assessing tolls without public approval.

Whatever the solution to the funding issue, Jackson said a solution needs to be found – and quickly.

“When MoDOT’s funding gets cut back, they go to maintenance-only mode,” Jackson said. “I don’t think anybody wants that.”

The Funding Options

Several ideas are being discussed to buffer the state against an impending funding shortfall. Any funding solution would need approval from the General Assembly and voters.

• A 1-cent sales tax; it would generate an estimated $730 million a year.

• A 2-cent sales tax to replace the state’s current 17-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax; the net gain on state revenue is a rough estimate of $800 million a year, though no official study has been completed. Proponents say gas taxes have a disproportionate impact on people with lower incomes.

• Toll assessments; Public-private partnerships to complete certain road projects could be paid for through toll assessments. MoDOT currently has no legal authority to assess tolls on state-owned roads.

• A 10 percent diversion of general revenue growth to the road fund; a bill introduced in the General Assembly this year didn’t make it to a vote. It estimated $150 million by the fourth year and $1.3 billion by the 20th year.

The MoDOT 5

Missouri Department of Transportation lists five top priorities:

• Take care of roads and bridges. The department wants 85 percent of heavily traveled roads, 75 percent of less traveled roads and 90 percent of bridges upgraded to good condition. Currently those numbers stand at 78 percent, 62 percent and 72 percent, respectively.

• Provide other ways to get around. MoDOT wants residents to make increased use of the state’s passenger rails, waterways and public transportation systems.

• Improve interstates 70 and 44. MoDOT calls them the “economic lifelines” of the state, but they’re now 50 years old and were designed to last about 20 years.

• Complete major projects. The department pared a list of about 100 recommended highway projects down to 46, with a price tag of more than $5.3 billion.

• Meet regional needs. MoDOT estimates that its 50-50 cost-sharing program with local communities for regional projects would cost about $3.8 billion over 20 years. [[In-content Ad]]