The new Director of the State Transportation Department has presented highway commissioners with his plans for the new money his agency will get since Amendment Three passed last week. At the State Highway Commission meeting, Director Pete Rahn said the money MoDOT is expected to get from the end of the diversion of gas tax dollars – approximately $160-Million to $180-Million – will be translated into up to $1.5-Billion in bonding. He says the first $400-Million will be spent on smoothing out 2,200 miles of the most traveled roads in the state. Most of the roads that will be fixed at first are in the urban areas and along the four-lane corridors in Missouri. The next two phases of the plan will accelerate the pace at which existing projects are completed and select some new high-priority projects. While commissioners were enthusiastic about the proposal, they cautioned against over-promising. Rahn says he recognizes this is not the only fix the state transportation system might need.
