MoDOT shares 5-year cost-saving plan at meetings

Missouri Department of Transportation staff members are taking the state agency's new five-year cost-cutting plan out to the communities they serve.

A handful of people gathered at the Osage Centre in Cape Girardeau Thursday afternoon to learn more about MoDOT's plans to reduce its employees, facilities and staff.

After community input is gathered at 80 meetings across Missouri, the state's highways and transportation commission will make a decision on MoDOT's "Bolder Five-Year Direction" plan June 8.

"What they are doing is exactly right. They're downsizing like the rest of us in this difficult time," said Larry Payne of Rose Concrete Products in Scott City, which supplies materials to MoDOT.

MoDOT's plan calls for a reduction of 1,200 employees, 135 facilities and 740 pieces of equipment in an effort to save more than $500 million in the first year. The department expects an additional savings of $100 million annually that will be redirected to road projects. If approved in June, the plan will be fully implemented by December 2012.

In Southeast Missouri, the plan calls for the closure of resident engineer offices in Kennett and Sikeston, and maintenance facilities in Delta, Arbyrd, Brazeau, East Prairie, Naylor, Portageville, Puxico, Steele and Williamsville.

For the last five years, MoDOT's construction program has averaged $1.2 billion per year. New construction projects will be cut to about half that amount, said Mark Shelton, district engineer for MoDOT's Southeast District. MoDOT is also reducing its regional districts from 10 to seven.

Shelton said the cost-cutting efforts are essential for the state to have matching funds needed to receive federal dollars for highway projects in the future.

"There is a funding crisis in transportation," Shelton said. If nothing changes, we will get to a point where we can't match federal funds by 2017."

Most highway construction projects are funded by a combination of federal and state funds. The federal government provides 80 percent of the funding while the state pays 20 percent, he said.

MoDOT's funds come from a 17-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax, an automobile sales tax and a portion of driver's license and vehicle registration fees.

While those funds have stayed relatively stable, federal stimulus funds and revenue from bonds previously issued by MoDOT are now gone, Shelton said.

"We've done a lot of good things over the past few years. We've made a lot of good improvements ... now our budget is down to one that puts us in a maintenance mode," he said.

Members of the public may contact MoDOT to comment on the plan by calling 888-275-6636 or email comments to mhtc@modot.mo.gov.

mmiller@semissourian.com

388-3646

Pertinent address:

1625 North Kingshighway, Cape Girardeau, MO