MoDOT Takes New Approach to Building Roads

The State Transportation Department is taking a more practical approach to how it designs and builds road and bridge projects. MoDOT Chief Engineer Kevin Keith says the epartment is using what is called “Practical Design” – building the Chevy version of a project instead of the Cadillac version. Keith says projects will be done cheaper, but safety won’t be compromised. He says while every road and bridge won’t have every safety feature, more roads and bridges will be better. Keith says MoDOT has already used this method to trim about $400-Million off the latest group of projects presented to the State Highway Commission – the equivilant of a three-cent gas tax collected over five years. -jcd-