Local advocates for an interstate upgrade to highways 60 and 67 took the opportunity Thursday to highlight the benefits of the project for Missouri Department of Transportation Director Patrick McKenna.
McKenna and other MoDOT officials met in Poplar Bluff as part of a series of meetings across the state to gain information on regional priorities.
This effort lays the groundwork for the plan that will set the state's construction commitments for 2020-2024, according to MoDOT. A draft of the Statewide Transportation Improvement program plan will be presented in May to the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission.
"We've always felt that local input is truly vital in making sure we are building and maintaining the system in the manner that the communities we serve wish. That's how it works best," said McKenna.
Missouri is nationally recognized for its planning model, he said, which includes 19 commissions that represent the various regions of the state. Many states stop at the metropolitan planning level, he explained.
"We want to make sure that everybody understands we are not going to side step that hard work that goes on at the community level to inform the process to make sure that the statewide plan is informed by local objectives, local consent," McKenna said. "It's really the local communities that know how to build your communities in the manner in which you want."
An Interstate 57 designation has already been given to a route between Poplar Bluff and Sikeston, but the project still lacks funding.
The I-57 project has been identified as a regional priority by members of the Ozark Foothills Regional Planning Commission's transportation advisory committee, which includes Butler, Carter, Reynolds, Ripley and Wayne counties.
Transportation development benefits the community in increased safety and economic development, said Tom Lawson, chairperson of the Highway 67 Corporation, which successfully sought voter approval of a sales tax that helped fund the four-laning of the roadway between Poplar Bluff and Fredericktown. Members of the Highway 67 Corporation now support the I-57 project as well.
Poplar Bluff has seen more than $300 million in additional brick-and-mortar development with construction for medical and retail locations, Lawson said.
MoDOT representatives also presented information during the meeting concerning the current status of roads in the Southeast district.
This includes:
* Interstates and major routes -- 908 miles that receive 56 percent of district travel and have 92 percent good pavement conditions;
* Minor routes (over 400 vehicles per day) -- 4,150 miles that receive 41 percent of district travel and have 86 percent good pavement condition;
* Low volume routes (less than 400 vehicles per day) -- 2,353 miles that receive 3 percent of district travel and have 77 percent good pavement;
* Bridges -- 2,218 total, with 161 in poor condition, another 1,436 in fair condition, and 621 in good condition. Just under 300 bridges have weight restriction, of those, 91 are in poor condition, officials said.
The state has $825 million per year in high-priority, unfunded transportation needs, said Chris Rutledge, MoDOT assistant district engineer. That includes $275 million in projects to increase economic growth and improve safety, and $300 million in major interstate reconstruction.
A 10-cent increase in the motor fuel tax would bring road funding back to the purchasing power seen in 1996, the last time the tax saw an increase, said McKenna.
Voters will decide Nov. 6 on Proposition D, which would increase the motor fuel tax by 2.5 cents each year, for four years.
The revenue earned from the motor fuel tax is constitutionally protected, McKenna said. The priorities set by the constitution require 30 percent of collections to be sent first to local cities and counties.
The remaining 70 percent is split three ways among state agencies.
The cost of collecting the tax must be paid to the Department of Revenue, as the second priority, McKenna said.
The third priority pays for the enforcement of motor vehicle laws by the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Money to the MSHP is capped at what is actually spent on enforcement and that spending is audited, said McKenna.
Remaining money after the first three priorities goes toward the construction and maintenance of roads and bridges, he explained.
Other supporters of the I-57 project attending the meeting included Poplar Bluff City Manager Mark Massingham, First Midwest Bank President Joey McLane, Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce President Steve Halter, former Butler County coroner Larry Cotrell, Carroll Rainwater of Greenville, real estate agent Kurt Knodell, Margaret Carter of First Midwest Bank, Poplar Bluff Police Chief Danny Whiteley, Butler County Commissioner Butch Anderson and representatives of the city of Sikeston.