BRIDGE FINANCING IS A CREATIVE SOLUTION

For all the criticism, some government officials are able to think creatively about problems and come up with smart decisions. This was the case when the Missouri Department of Transportation agreed to lend money to Illinois for that state's share of the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge across the Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau.

The bridge project is long overdue. The narrow and aging existing bridge is dangerous and falls far short of meeting modern traffic needs.

But the fact is that Illinois is strapped for highway funds. It already is investing millions of dollars as its share of another joint Missouri-Illinois bridge project over the Mississippi at Hannibal. Without the creative financing that has been arranged, the start of the project here probably would have been delayed until 2000. Fortunately, construction is well under way and should be completed by 2001.

Missouri officials decided to take advantage of new financing options permitted under federal funding regulations. This allows the state to set aside a portion of the highway dollars from Washington to be used by another state on joint projects. In addition, Missouri will lend Illinois $10.6 million of its own regular highway budget funds as part of the overall $38.6 million loan.

As federal funds are allocated to Illinois for the bridge project over the next eight years, Illinois will repay Missouri, with interest. The total repayment will be $43.9 million.

Moving the bridge project along was a high priority for Missouri, and this innovative plan -- possibly the only one of its kind in the nation -- has allowed both states to make the most of federal and state dollars.

Another creative financing agreement was reached several months ago by Cape Girardeau and Southeast Missouri State University officials. The university agreed to pay for needed improvements to the Henderson-New Madrid intersection next to the new college of business on the campus. The project wasn't due for a few more years under the city's priorities of street project funded by a new sales tax. The city will repay the university when the project comes up on the priority list, thus assuring that projects with a higher priority aren't delayed.

Government officials who use common sense instead of bureaucratic rules serve taxpayers better in the long run.