Missouri budgets $14.6 billion for major transportation projects

Missouri will spend $14.6 billion of combined state and federal funding over the next five years to tackle projects to improve all modes of transportation infrastructure

The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission last week approved the state’s Statewide Transportation Improvement Program, which lists state and regional transportation priorities through 2029.

The five-year program is the largest to date and includes additional funding from the state’s general fund budget. Projects will include improvements to interstates 70 and 44, low-volume arterial roads and improvements to airports, bridges and rail crossings, the Missouri Department of Transportation said.

Of the $14.6 billion, the plan details $10.7 billion in road and bridge construction contractor awards, averaging approximately $2.1 billion per year, MoDOT said.

Anticipated contractor awards are projected to peak in 2027 at approximately $2.5 billion, MDOT said.

The plan details maintenance improvements to Missouri’s 33,811 miles of roads and 10,392 bridges and culverts.

Planned projects include work on 2,777 lane miles of interstate pavements, 3,321 miles of major route pavements and 7,845 miles of minor route pavements.

The plan includes projects and services to move the department toward the federal system reliability and congestion performance targets, MoDOT said.

A majority of projects are designated for preserving the condition of the state’s road and bridge conditions, MoDOT said. Where funding allows, MoDOT has projects designed to improve reliability throughout the state and reducing congestion on the busiest corridors, the agency said.

Projects also include system management and operations functions to help improve reliability, including transportation management centers in St. Louis, Kansas City and Springfield, emergency response crews on the state’s major highways, and intelligent transportation systems to provide customers with real-time information to increase the likelihood of a reliable trip.

The draft plan was released in May for public review, with MoDOT receiving 107 comments.

It also includes detailed project information for non-highway modes of transportation and a section detailing planned operations and maintenance activities for the next three years.