AASHTO Journal, 10 July 2015
The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission approved its latest five-year Statewide Transportation Improvement Program on July 1, and officials said it marked a decline in the state’s ability to invest in its road and bridge network.
“The STIP we approved provides a glimpse to a future that no Missourian should want,” said Chairman Stephen Miller in one of his “View From the Chair” newsletter postings. “For the first time in history, no expansion projects were added to the STIP.”
Miller noted that July 1 was the start of the Missouri Department of Transportation’s 2016 fiscal year, but he titled his latest newsletter “Not All New Years Are Happy.”
He explained that expansion projects are improvements “such as a new lane, interchange or bridge that may bring economic development, relieve congestion or improve safety.” Under current revenue projections, MoDOT will not be able to undertake any of them, as it focuses resources on maintaining “primary routes” on the state highway system.
MoDOT said in a press release its new five-year plan calls for 577 road and bridge construction projects, a decline of 246 projects from last year’s final STIP.
Last year, voters rejected a ballot measure to raise sales taxes for transportation improvements, and the General Assembly did not pass any new revenue-raising measures in this year’s session.
Miller wrote that the new STIP is a “harbinger” of worse things to come. Besides providing no expansion projects, he said its preservation projects “will not be sufficient to actually preserve our system.”
He explained that “we will continue to prioritize the 8,000 miles on our primary system, but the 26,000 miles on the supplementary system will deteriorate.” Already, about 25 percent of those secondary roads “are in poor condition today,” Miller added. “In 10 years the number is projected to be 75 percent.”
The chairman noted that initial contract awards for the new fiscal year “were the lowest in memory at only $7 million,” with no bid letting scheduled for the coming month. As a result, he said, Missouri highway contractors “are now seeking work in our neighboring states where their prospects are brighter.”