Inflation, COVID, impacting MoDOT

Mark Croarkin, Southeast District engineer for the Missouri Department of Transportation since September 2020, said in remarks to the Southeast Metropolitan Planning Organization (SEMPO) last week it is a "unique time" for MoDOT.

Croarkin, who has spent 23 years as a full-time MoDOT employee, quoted MoDOT director Patrick McKenna in telling SEMPO that 828 employees left the state transportation agency in 2021 and half of the entire department had turned over since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.

"We have to slow down turnover because this is not sustainable," Croarkin said.

Croarkin also told SEMPO attendees 4% of the Southeast District's 730 full-time staff is currently impacted by COVID and cannot come to work.

The Southeast District covers 25 Missouri counties.

Inflation of nearly 10%, Croarkin said, has shot up the construction cost of bridges by an estimated 30%.

Croarkin noted MoDOT officials continue to work to inform state legislators about the benefits of Senate Bill 262 -- approved last year to boost the fuel tax 2.5 cents per year, raising the to 29.5 cents per gallon in July 2025. At least four legislators in the General Assembly, he said, have introduced bills to repeal the tax.

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