MoDOT can't stand another repeat of history

The history of the Missouri Department of Transportation's failed 15-year plan for highway improvements is as well-known to many Missourians as the major battles of World War II.

Here are the important dates and facts:

In 1992, the Missouri Legislature increased the fuel tax by 6 cents a gallon. There was no statewide vote. The Missouri Department of Transportation promised to use the revenue from the tax increase to complete a long list of projects over the next 15 years.

In 1998, MoDOT scrapped the 15-year plan, saying it has been based on faulty cost projections from the start. In spite of the abandonment of the 15-year plan, many projects that were on the list became part of MoDOT's ongoing schedule.

In recent years, there have been efforts from several angles to increase funding for statewide transportation needs. At one point, MoDOT estimated it would take another billion dollars a year to fund all of the needed projects. Special committees and legislators and MoDOT officials all looked for ways to find a plan that would both meet the state's transportation needs and produce enough revenue to pay for all of it.

Finally, at the end of this year's session, legislators agreed to put a proposal on the Aug. 6 ballot. That proposal calls for another 4-cent-a-gallon increase in the state fuel tax.

Between now and August, MoDOT and supporters of this plan must find ways to convince voters to impose a tax increase on themselves. At the same time, voters are being barraged with information about how the state has a budget crisis because a decade of rapid revenue growth has come to a near halt. All over the state are signs of the fallout of reduced spending for state programs: a university here, an economic development office there.

Some Missourians are taking the time-tested Show Me approach to the proposed tax increase. They are asking for a list of projects so they will be able to keep track of what MoDOT does with the extra money, should voters approve. MoDOT says it will provide such a list.

Meanwhile, major organizations like the Missouri Farm Bureau -- whose membership is critical to passage of a fuel-tax increase -- want some other assurances, such as internal reform at MoDOT and a list of projects based on need instead of politics.

There is no question that the right list of projects will sway some voters. But there are pitfalls that must be avoided. First, no project should be put on a list just to woo voters. Second, any list must be bulletproof against the miscalculations of the 15-year plan.

When it comes right down to it, MoDOT's task is to convince voters that it is a different organization than it was in 1992 and that it can keep any promises it makes.

This is the only way to keep history from repeating itself.