Bigger bucks: Missouri getting bigger share of highway dollars

The summer road trip is an American -- and Missouri -- tradition, and this year is no different. Missourians are getting in their cars and heading off to the Lake of the Ozarks, Six Flags, the Gateway Arch and numerous other destinations during the busy summer travel season. As they travel, they can take comfort in the fact that Congress has taken final action on a major highway bill.

Both the Senate and House passed multiyear highway bills last year, but partisan politics prior to the November election killed any hope of a compromise bill. After a year of delay, the Senate and House have passed a new $286.5 billion federal highway bill, which includes almost $1.3 billion in new funds for Missouri.

As chairman of the Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee, I have fought to increase the return on the dollar that Missourians pay at the pump in federal transportation taxes. When I first came to the Senate in 1987, Missouri only received 76 cents on the dollar. The new agreement provides Missouri with a 98-cent on the dollar return in the formula programs. Missouri will receive $862 million through the formula programs each year, up from $661 million in the last transportation bill -- a 30 percent increase.

With the new funding, the unsafe road conditions and gridlock that have been an unwelcome way of life for too long may now be a thing of the past. In the absence of a multi-year commitment of funds, states have been forced to delay bidding on new projects. Not anymore.

Critics of highway legislation often point to it as "pork-barrel spending." Tell that to Missourians -- and many other Americans -- who wait hours at a bridge crossing that should take minutes, who drive by too many white crosses and other roadside memorials, and who spend too much time commuting to work. Transportation spending is critical to improve highway safety, alleviate congestion, create jobs and spark economic growth.

Nearly 43,000 Americans -- three Missourians each day -- lost their lives on our highways and roads last year, many of them during the heavy travel months from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Some of these fatalities can be blamed on poor road conditions including roadside obstacles, poorly marked roads, crumbling pavement and narrow two-lane roads carrying traffic volume significantly higher than that for which they were intended. States desperately need funds to make improvements at hazardous locations that pose a danger to motorists, cyclists and pedestrians.

Current highway spending is not enough to maintain the status quo, let alone make improvements. The U.S. Department of Transportation estimates that the annual federal investment in roads must increase by 17 percent per year simply to maintain the nation's existing highway and bridge system, and by 65 percent to improve conditions. The new highway bill is a start.

And just in time. Road conditions continue to deteriorate. A 2002 U.S. Department of Transportation report found that the percentage of America's substandard roads and bridges is increasing.

Missouri is a microcosm of America's transportation problems, with 59 percent of its major roads in either poor or mediocre condition, requiring immediate repair or reconstruction. Missouri has the second worst bridges in the country, with 26 percent of bridges 20 feet or longer structurally deficient. With funding from the new formula grant, our state can begin to address its crumbling infrastructure.

The new transportation bill also contains dedicated funding I added for two critically needed projects to ease congestion in our largest metropolitan areas: a new downtown St. Louis Mississippi River Bridge crossing and a new I-29 Paseo Bridge in Kansas City. There is funding for bus and rail transit improvements in the major cities and throughout the state. That is welcome news for those commuters stuck in traffic.

It is also good news for the economy. There may be no quicker way to jump-start the economy than to build roads. The U.S. Department of Transportation estimates that every $1 billion in new federal investment in highways creates approximately 47,500 jobs. These are good construction jobs, paying an average of $19 per hour, 23 percent higher than the average private sector wage.

The positive economic impact lasts for many years because jobs go to and grow in communities with good highways. In my three decades of service to Missouri working for economic development, I have seen clearly how good roads mean good jobs.

The new highway bill will improve Missouri's roads and put Missourians to work. It has been a long time coming, but soon everyone should notice the improvement. And the bill's positive legacy -- safer roads and a stronger economy -- will be felt for generations to come.

Kit Bond represents Missouri in the U.S. Senate, where he is chairman of the Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee.