The state Senate’s transportation leader already is looking ahead to a post-Pete Rahn state Transportation Department. Rahn’s abrupt resignation caught most state officials by surprise, including Bill Stouffer, the leader of the Senate Transportation Committee. He got his copy of Rahn’s resignation letter while he was temporarily presiding over the Senate.
Stouffer says he’s glad for Rahn, but sorry for Missouri. He says Rahn has elevated Missouri’s highway system from being 47th in the nation to the top five. He thinks the department is positioned well for the next director.
But Stouffer knows that Rahn’s four-plus years of work to bring Missouri’s road system up to snuff could turn to potholes and rust in a few years if new ways of financing the infrastructure are not approved. For now though, he says, Rahn’s successor will be taking over a good ship.