Transportation plan key to economic growth

"I've never known a road that runs in only urban Missouri or rural Missouri. It runs both ways."

With that statement, Gov. Bob Holden took his One Missouri Transportation Plan on the road, coming to Springfield March 9.

Here he rode on public transit a City Utilities bus and explained his plan for multimodal transportation in the state, encompassing travel by water, rail, road and air.

Missouri can't afford to wait even one more year to add additional funding to transportation, Holden said. His $620 million plan is a pittance compared to the $15 billion that the state of Illinois plans to spend to upgrade its transportation system, he added.

"The chamber supports something happening this session," said Ryan Mooney, program coordinator of economic development for the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce. "We're looking at everything that's out there. We are really appreciative of the governor in his leadership role and (his) saying I'm firmly committed to doing something.'"

Mooney fears that the Senate will make the issue bipartisan and nothing will happen this session. "If not, it won't happen for years to come. Transportation is one of the foundations of economic development. If you can't get the goods to market or the natural resources to the business to make a product, business doesn't work. If we can't tell industry that's looking at Springfield, or tell industry that's here in Springfield, the reason to come or the reason to stay is because we have good infrastructure, then its going to be an almost impossible sell to bring businesses here."

If Missouri waits too long, it may lose its chance to be "the transportation hub for the country," Holden said. Right now the state's transportation system is dying from "neglect and lack of funding. ... We cannot allow Illinois and Kansas to capture Missouri's position as the transportation corridor for the central United States."

Missouri has the sixth largest highway system in the country, Holden said, with the second and third largest rail interchanges in the United States "right here in Missouri." The Missouri and Mississippi rivers give the state bragging rights to the nation's two largest inland waterways as well, he added.

Springfield's chamber "is really pushing for a total transportation package," Mooney said, and he urges all parties concerned to "not quibble over the urban-rural split. We must look at the system as a whole and expand that to ports, airports, transit. We're in the center section of the United States ... that means business out the wazoo if it all comes in and out of here."

If Missouri doesn't act now, it will be like "a donut with a hole in the center," Mooney said.

Holden wants to combine the state's highway and transportation departments into one, with a secretary of transportation accountable to a board of commissioners who will decide and implement policies. In the past the state has taken a splinter approach to improving transportation. Instead, Holden said, "we must focus on what we need to do for the entire state."

His plan, which requires a public vote, would bring:

$371 million for highways, roads and bridges;

$99 million for public transit;

million for aviation, ports, passenger rail and freight;

$100 million in interstate improvements;

$25 million in state funds to match locally identified transportation projects.

"An investment of this magnitude will allow us to move forward on the vital progress that is long overdue," Holden said. However, a state Senate panel has endorsed a plan one-tenth the size of the governor's plan.

According to Holden, one-third of the bridges in Missouri need to be replaced or improved, and 5,000 miles of roads and 5,700 intersections need safety improvement.

Congestion is also an issue. While area traffic has increased significantly, Springfieldians and inhabitants of smaller area towns don't have an appreciation of what congested roads are like in larger cities such as St. Louis, he said. "The costs of roadway delays caused by congestion is almost $400 million a year."

The governor said he also is worried about citizen safety. "Three Missourians die every day on our roads and bridges. One Missourian is injured on our highways every 6.7 minutes. Our state is running up a huge price tag of accident insurance claims and emergency medical costs."

Besides protecting the public, Holden said, his One Missouri Transportation Plan will "spur economic development. Businesses will want to expand and new companies locate here if they are assured of a quality transportation system for their products."

Greene County Presiding Commissioner David Coonrod also spoke during Holden's Springfield visit. "Whatever your affiliation, reach out and grasp the governor's hand and try to do something to help the transit system in this state," he said.

In a later interview, Coonrod added, "I think he makes a good case for taking action this year." The county commission as a whole hasn't taken a position yet, he added, "but speaking personally, as a public official, I think we need to make every effort to objectively consider what the governor has suggested. It seems like every time someone tries to do something about transportation and they mention the T' word tax' everyone falls back into their political posturing. It becomes very partisan, and that is extremely unfortunate."

Mooney said that Spring-fieldians appreciate the need for taxation when projects are delivered as promised locally. "Springfieldians have renewed the quarter-cent sales tax four times because the city has proved its credibility by building the projects as promised. The city has a partnership with (the Missouri Department of Transportation.) We'll put up half the funding if you'll put up half the funding."

That way, the city can "accelerate projects that there is a definite need for in Springfield" without having to wait for the state to foot the entire bill, he said.

Coonrod added that "The governor has extended a nonpartisan hand to everyone in the state to say, Look. We have got a serious transportation problem.' We know that the states around us are expending huge amounts of public funds not only to maintain the infrastructure, but also to build roads and bridges to accommodate commerce. I am so amazed that some sectors are not getting behind the governor's initiative."

Some of the organizations that support the plan include the Kansas City and St. Louis area chambers of commerce, the Missouri Chamber of Commerce, Associated Industries of Missouri, OATS, Sierra Club, AAA, the AFL-CIO, Missouri Safety Council, Missouri Port Association, Consulting Engineers Council of Missouri, Missouri Motor Carriers, Missouri Public Transit Association, and the Mid-America Regional Council.