ST. LOUIS -- MoDOT has proposed a plan to maintain roads and bridges with a severely reduced budget starting 2017. The "Missouri 325 System" would have a $325 million budget.
For the past three to five years, that budget has been $1.3 billion – yes with a B. This year the budget has been reduced to $700 million. And by 2017, it will be $325 million.
"State and federal fuel taxes provide the bulk of revenue for transportation in Missouri, but that funding source in no longer adequate" said MoDOT Director Dave Nichols. "That's because cars have become more fuel efficient."
MoDOT says it gets about 70 to 80% of its budget from a 17 cent gas tax established back in 1992. The problem is today that plays out more like just 8 cents, thanks in part to fuel efficient cars. MoDOT maintenance projects have about a two-year lead time.
Nichols presented a "Tough Choices Ahead" plan to the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission at its monthly meeting in Jefferson City Wednesday. Nichols said with a $1.3 billion budget, improvement projects along with maintenance is possible for all Missouri roads.
"We need at least $485 million to maintain roads and bridges in the condition they are today, so facing a $325 million budget means making some tough choices," according to Nichols.
MoDOT has devised a plan to maintain roads with a "primary versus secondary roads" system. Primary roads will get the same routine maintenance and bridge work currently in place. But, the maintenance on secondary roads will be limited. To what extent has not been specified, but MoDOT says we can expect bridges and surfaces of secondary roads will be allowed to deteriorate because of the lack of funding.
This will mean potholes with a longer shelf life and bridges that get ugly – but not unsafe. MoDOT made a point to say they wouldn't allow bridges to deteriorate past the point of safety. However, they also said it may come to the extreme measure of closing bridges before having the funds to repair them.
Primary roads for Greater St. Louis include all of the major interstates and highways including 141, 364, and 367. There are about 8,000 miles of primary roadways, however there are roughly 26,000 miles of secondary roadways in the system. Examples of a secondary: Olive Boulevard (Hwy 340), Lindbergh Boulevard (Hwy 67) and Gravois Road (Hwy 30).
