The State Highways and Transportation Commission has approved a proposed project list for Amendment 7 on the August ballot, which proposes raising the sales tax three-quarters of one percent to pay for transportation projects over ten years.
Transportation Department Chief Engineer Ed Hassinger presents the Amendment 7 project list as MODOT Director Dave Nichols watches.
The 800 projects on the list include replacement of 4 major bridges, improvements to ports, rail, airports, public transportation, pedestrian infrastructure in all 114 counties and the City of St. Louis, and the single biggest project: 500-million dollars to reconstruct I-70 to add a third lane in both directions.
See the list approved Wednesday by the Commission
The approval means voters can now see what projects the Department of Transportation says it will commit to doing if they approve that tax issue next month, that would generate an estimated 534-million dollars annually for transportation for the next 10 years.
Transportation Department Chief Engineer Ed Hassinger says some projects were taken off the list when local public comment showed that other work would be more important to a region, and says the list includes more specifics and less generality.
Commissioner Joe Carmichael says other projects not on the list might also be undertaken by local governments if Amendment 7 passes and makes them more affordable.