Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) is seeking
public input on the draft submitted to the Missouri Highways and Transportation
Commission for the 2020-2024 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program
(STIP). The STIP focuses on taking care of the state’s existing transportation
system, and provides for a 30-day public review and comment period.
MoDOT Planning Director Machelle Watkins told commissioners
the draft STIP includes 1,869 highway and bridge projects, of which 85% will be
maintained in the condition they are in today. On average, the STIP annually
invests in 1,014 lane miles of interstate pavements, 1,346 miles of major route
pavements, 2,652 miles of minor route pavements and 213 bridges.
Missouri has the nation’s seventh largest state highway
system with 33,859 miles of roadways and 10,385 bridges, but ranks 48th
nationally in revenue per mile.
“With the priority of maintaining the existing system, MoDOT
has developed asset management plans for each district, with the goal to
maintain current pavement and bridge conditions,” Watkins said. “The asset
management plans focus on preventive maintenance improvements to keep good
roads and bridges in good condition. If preventive maintenance investments were
not made, the cost of improving the asset in poor condition can cost four to
ten times more.”
The STIP includes funding for the “Focus on Bridges” program
that was initiated by the Governor and funded by the Missouri General Assembly
approved budget with a one-time $50 million injection of general revenues for
the rehabilitation and/or reconstruction of 45 bridges, including one in
Jackson County at 140th Street at I-49. The money currently
dedicated to these bridge projects will then be freed up for additional
improvements to the state system of roads and bridges.
The program was developed assuming federal funding levels
consistent with the FAST Act, which expires in September 2020. A forecast
assuming a reduced level of federal funding, consistent with Highway Trust Fund
revenues, was also prepared. MoDOT and planning partners worked together to
identify specific projects that would be delayed, should federal funding be
reduced.
The STIP details an annual construction program that
averages $924 million per year for the five-year period. But it is insufficient
to meet the state’s unfunded high-priority transportation needs that are
estimated in MoDOT’s “Citizen’s Guide to Transportation Funding,” at an
additional $825 million per year.
“Across every region of the state, feedback from Missourians
has consistently prioritized maintaining the existing system as the highest
priority,” MoDOT Director Patrick McKenna said. “The STIP represents our
commitment to Missourians of the projects that will be developed and delivered
over the next five years.
“However,” McKenna continued, “this STIP recognizes the
serious consequences to our plans if policy makers in Washington are unable to
fix the Highway Trust Fund. In Missouri, that puts $613 million of projects
including 5,423 lane-miles of roadway improvements and 55 bridge projects in
jeopardy in FY 2021 and 2022. We have worked with our planning partners to
determine these at-risk projects and offer a qualified commitment of project delivery.”
The draft STIP also includes detailed project information
for non-highway modes of transportation and includes a section detailing
planned operations and maintenance activities for the next three years,
alongside expenditures for those same activities in the prior year. This
additional information is provided to allow Missourians to more easily see how
their transportation funding is invested.
The draft 2020-2024 Statewide Transportation Improvement
Program lists transportation projects planned by state and regional planning
agencies for fiscal years 2020 through 2024 (July 1, 2019 through June 30,
2024). Those interested in seeing the program or offering comments can contact
MoDOT by email to STIPcomments@modot.mo.gov, by calling customer service at
1-888-ASK-MoDOT (275-6636), or by mail to Transportation Planning, Program
Comments, P.O. Box 270, Jefferson City, MO 65102. The program is also available
on MoDOT's website at www.modot.org/DRAFTSTIP and at MoDOT district and
regional offices around the state. The formal comment period ends July 5, 2019.
Following the public review period, the comments will be
presented to the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission. The
Commission will review the comments and the final transportation program before
considering it for approval at its July 10 meeting in Richmond.
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