Missouri’s transportation system consists of 33,830 miles of roads and 10,399 bridges, both of which rank among the largest for any state in the nation. The Missouri Department of Transportation working with its statewide regional planning partners has identified $1 billion in annual unfunded needs. From the broader unfunded needs, MoDOT has developed a High Priority Unfunded Needs list to guide the development of projects into funded projects as state and federal transportation funds increase.
The public is invited to two meetings to discuss the draft updated High Priority Unfunded Needs list for transportation in the Kansas City Missouri Region. The presentation materials and a comment form are also available online at modot.org/unfundedneeds.
The meeting for Johnson, Lafayette, Pettis, Ray and Saline counties will be from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 9, at the Warrensburg Municipal Court, 200 S. Holden St., Warrensburg.
Since the passage of Missouri’s additional 12.5 cent motor fuel tax increase in July, MoDOT staff have worked with metropolitan planning organizations and regional planning commissions throughout the state to develop a list of high-priority unfunded road and bridge needs. The draft project-specific lists include $4.5 billion of road and bridge projects in three tiers. Tier one includes $543 million and includes projects we could accomplish in the time of the current five-year Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) as federal and state funding levels increase. These projects have good estimates. Tier two is worth $2.1 billion and includes projects beyond the current STIP timeframe with broader estimates. Tier three includes $2.2 billion of projects that are also beyond the current STIP timeframe with broader estimates. In addition, MoDOT staff worked with the planning partners to identify $1 billion in multimodal needs.
The draft document and comment forms will be available online through Dec. 22. For more information, call MoDOT at 888-ASK-MODOT (275-6636) or visit www.modot.org.
