Road Builders: 70K MO Jobs at Stake

A study just released by a national transportation builders group says that legislative failure to pass federal aid to state highway and transporation programs jeopardizes 70,304 jobs in Missouri, according to new research.

These employees earn a total annual payroll of $3.1 billion and contribute an estimated $254.5 million in state and federal payroll tax revenue. This employment includes the equivalent of 35,023 full-time jobs directly involved in transportation construction and related activities, and 35,281 that are sustained by transportation design and construction industry employee and company spending throughout the state's economy, according to the analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association Transportation Development Foundation (ARTBA-TDF.)

The ARTBA-TDF report, "U.S. Transportation Construction Industry Profile," showed that 1,628,273 full-time jobs in Missouri in industries like tourism, retail sales, agriculture and manufacturing that are dependent on the state's transportation network.

According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), ARTBA-TDF reported, Missouri has 129,718 miles of roadway. Of the state's 30,509 miles of roadway eligible for federal aid, 26.3% are rated "not acceptable" and need major repairs or replacement. This compares to 24.3% of roads in 2007. Missouri also has 24,180 bridges. FHWA reports 30.3% of the state's bridges are either "structurally deficient" (4,293 bridges) or "functionally obsolete" (3,023 bridges). It will cost an estimated $3.5 billion to make needed bridge repairs on 6,497 structures in the state.

The last highway and transit law expired in October 2009. Federal aid to the states has been sustained ever since through a series of short-term extensions. The uncertainty of future funding levels is causing state transportation departments to slow down or delay projects, and in turn, impacting hiring decisions and equipment purchases by transportation design and construction firms.
The ARTBA-TDF is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt entity created to "promote research, education and public awareness." It supports an array of initiatives, such as scholarships, awards, safety training and economic reports.

ARTBA-TDF has created a website http://www.transportationconstructionjobs.org with data about the impacts of transportation investment on the national and all 50 state economies.

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