One of the biggest critics of the State Transportation Department in the past is once again critical of the agency’s new philosophy of “practical design.” Practical design builds roads and bridges at the cheapest cost possible without sacrificing safety. Missouri Farm Bureau Spokesman Estil Fretwell says MoDOT used an “impractical design” to falsely inflate the costs of the projects in the 15-year highway plan. Fretwell says, to make matters worse, the Transportation Department now tells areas that want a 15-year highway plan project built that the local areas have to come up with local matching funds.
