As the new director of the Missouri Department of Transportation, here are my top 10 signs of progress in 2010:
1. Low Fatalities. Engineering improvements, enforcement, education and emergency services are credited with the 31 percent drop in highway deaths since 2005. Traffic fatalities are the lowest theyíve been since 1950.
2. kcICON Opens. The new Christopher S. Bond Bridge, part of kcICON in Kansas City, opened to traffic several months ahead of schedule. Roads and Bridges magazine selected the project as the yearís top road project.
3. Major Highways in Good Condition. Missouriansí investment in transportation through Amendment 3 enabled us to bring 86 percent of the stateís major highways up to good condition.
4. A New or Improved Bridge Opening Every 2.5 Days. The Safe & Sound Bridge Improvement Program is repairing or replacing 802 of the worst bridges in the state.
5. Progress on Major Highway Corridors, Rural Roads. Roughly 109 miles of four-lane or shared four-lane highway was added.
6. I-64, Springfield Diverging Diamond Awards. The I-64 reconstruction project in St. Louis was named the countryís best transportation project, and the diverging diamond interchange in Springfield won the Francis B. Francois Award for Innovation.
7. High Customer Satisfaction. Eighty-three percent of Missourians report they are satisfied or very satisfied with the job we do. Truckers rated their satisfaction with our Motor Carrier Services Division at 95.7 percent.
8. MoDOT Recycles. Since 2005, we have kept 8.4 billion pounds of waste from going to landfills. Those efforts have twice earned us the top state recycling awards.
9. Amtrak Ridership, Performance Improves. Ridership on Amtrakís Missouri River Runner trains between St. Louis and Kansas City increased to 168,000 from 154,000 during fiscal 2010 and on-time performance rose to a record average of 92 percent.
10. New Interstate on its Way. The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission approved highway construction that will upgrade Highway 71 between Kansas City and Joplin to interstate standards by the end of 2012.
– Kevin Keith, Missouri Department of Transportation[[In-content Ad]]
A franchise store of a Branson West-based quilting business made its Queen City debut; Grateful Vase launched in Lebanon; and Branson entertainment venue The Social Birdy had its grand opening.
