Highway Commission approves STIP, aims at cost-effectiveness

Last week, the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission approved the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program, a five-year list of planned road and transportation projects.

However, with transportation funding in Missouri dropping, the total number of projects in this year’s STIP has taken a hit. The projects in this STIP’s five-year highway and bridge schedule is 577, a decrease of 246 projects from last year’s final STIP, according to a MoDOT press release.

The STIP, which updated annually, can be found on the MoDOT website. The document outlines insufficient funding for the transportation department and plans to combat the problem.

Last summer, Missouri voters decided against a new sales tax that would have covered STIP construction costs.

MoDOT predicts that, in 2017, the department’s construction budget will drop to $325 million annually. To prepare for this budget drop, MoDOT has reduced staff by 20 percent and gotten rid of 750 pieces of equipment and 124 properties, including one building in Hallsville that was recently purchased by the Boone County Commission for $450,000.

This predicted budget would be the lowest for MoDOT since 1992. According to a MoDOT press release, while existing projects will continue as planned, any new projects will be limited to maintaining “primary routes.”

These primary routes are 8,000 miles of major roadways. Every county in the state has at least one highway in this system, according to the STIP. However, the remaining 26,000 miles of supplementary routes will receive only limited maintenance.

According to the STIP, 89 percent of Missouri’s major roads are in good condition, with 80 percent of bridges in fair or good condition. Missouri is home to the seventh largest highway system in the nation.

In February 2015, the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission approved “Missouri’s 325 System,” a reference to the new $325 million budget. This system outlines a process for allocating resources to maintain as many roadways as possible.

“This year, the draft STIP demonstrates the commitment MoDOT has made to projects that focus on primary routes and taking care of the existing highway system,” said MoDOT Interim Director Roberta Broeker.