MODOT’s Spending Headed South

MoDOT Belt Tightening

Missouri could lose highway and bridge construction jobs over the next five years unless something is done to increase transportation funding, Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) district engineer told the audience at a St. Louis Council of Construction Consumers' presentation on transportation infrastructure.

For the last four years, MoDOT spent an average of $1.2 billion a year on construction that employed over 21,600 workers, with a peak of $1.36 billion in 2009.

This year, MoDOT has only $662 million to spend on construction. Hassenger said MoDOT's construction budget is expected to average only $600 million a year over the next five years.

"We will honor commitments to the new Mississippi River Bridge, the Dorsett/270 interchange, and the 141/Page-Olive Connector," he said, but beyond those projects, "we will be unable to invest in economic development," he said.

"And we will do our best to maintain the existing system," he added.

The drop-off in funding has several causes: MoDOT used up the funds from a highway construction bond issue, federal stimulus funding has ended, and gas tax revenue began falling two years ago.

Hassenger noted that a statewide group, the Missouri Transportation Alliance, has formed to try to figure out what comes next for Missouri's transportation systems. Doing nothing, he said, is not a viable option, it would be like putting an "out of business" sign up at the state borders.

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