The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) has released a draft of its five-year plan that will focus on fewer construction projects than the previous iteration. The DOT’s draft of its Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) was delivered to the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission, in which the DOT said a drop in state funds will translate to far fewer projects to keep state roads and bridges in good condition. The latest draft includes 574 projects—250 fewer than last year’s version.
Transportation Planning Director Machelle Watkins said the draft reflects construction budgets expected to drop from nearly $600 million in 2016 to $325 million in 2017 and beyond. “Missourians won’t see the kinds of projects that they’ve gotten used to over the years, economic development projects, four lane expansions, interchange additions, but instead they’ll see projects that are focused on just resurfacing or maintaining bridges on our 8,000 miles of our primary roads only,” said Watkins. “We don’t have projects added outside of the primary system and we don’t have projects added outside of the kinds of projects that maintain a system.”
The proposed draft is available for public review and comment on the MoDOT website.
“Between now and July, [the DOT] is giving the public a chance to reflect on [this draft] and give us comments and we’ll come back taking those comments with a final recommendation to the Commission, which we expect they will act on at the July 1st meeting later this year,” said Watkins.
In February, the “Missouri’s 325 System,” focusing resources by dividing Missouri’s highways into primary and supplementary routes, was adopted, by which any new projects would be limited to maintaining the 8,000 miles of primary routes in the condition they are in today, but the remaining 26,000 miles would only receive limited routine maintenance.
What impact this latest proposed draft will have on the intentions of the 325 System remains to be seen.
As part of our ongoing series, DOT in Crisis, look for an in-depth look at the travails presenting troubling the state of Missouri in our upcoming July issue of Roads & Bridges.
