Tax-funded transportation project list finalized

Missourians can now view the finalized list of transportation projects to be funded by the Amendment 7 transportation sales tax, pending voter approval in August.

The list was created as a joint effort between the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission and local planning agencies and transportation groups. When the state Legislature approved the amendment, it did so on the condition that the Missouri Department of Transportation create a list of prioritized projects that would be funded by the 10-year, three-quarter-cent tax.

To determine the state's greatest needs, MoDOT relied heavily on public input, said Southeast District engineer Mark Shelton. People were encouraged to submit transportation project ideas to local planning agencies, then view and comment on the projects on the draft list, which was submitted to the commission Wednesday for final approval.

The result of all those town hall meetings, letters and online comments was a 36-page list of road, bridge, sidewalk, aviation, rail and port projects. Many of those projects, especially in the Southeast District, involve improving, repairing or replacing existing infrastructure.

"We have a big system and it's aging," Shelton said. "It takes a lot of money to upkeep it. A lot of projects are repairing, replacing and resurfacing -- just taking care of the system."

In addition to repairs, the list calls for some new projects in the area. A sidewalk, or "nonmotorized facility," would be created along Veterans Memorial Drive from East Main Street in Jackson to Route W in Cape Girardeau. A new interchange would be built on Interstate 55 in Perry County, north of Route T, and funding would be contributed to the SEMO Port in Scott County to construct loop railroad tracks.

Many of the projects come with an impressive price tag. The most expensive project in the Southeast District rings in at a little more than $62 million and adds lanes to Highway 412 from Kennett, Missouri, to the Arkansas state line. Locally, a $25 million improvement to the I-55/Highway 74 interchange and replacement of the Bloomfield overpass in Cape Girardeau is the highest-priced project.

Shelton said if voters approve the transportation tax Aug. 5, work on the more costly projects likely will not begin until the tax has been collected for a few years.

"If it passes, we won't begin collecting the tax until Jan. 1, so we will have to do some work internally to assess the cash flow," he said. "The more expensive projects ... will have to be worked in midway of the 10 years just because of the way the cash flow works."

He also said the funds would be distributed across the districts once they were collected, rather than doled out to one district at a time.

The tax is estimated to bring in about $534 million annually and was proposed initially as a way to cover a projected shortfall in MoDOT's budget. The majority of the funds would go toward statewide transportation projects, but cities and counties would each be allocated 5 percent for local transportation needs.

The finalized project list is available at modot.org/movingforward.

srinehart@semissourian.com

388-3641

Pertinent address:

Cape Girardeau, Mo.