GOOD ECONOMY MEANS FUNDS FOR HIGHWAYS

You would never know that Missouri's 15-year highway plan was ever in financial jeopardy by the volume of highway construction going on and the number of projects the department plans for the near future.

If the long-range plan is indeed in such trouble, where is all the money coming from for the construction taking place across the state? And if money will be such a problem down the road, why is the department holding hearings almost on a regular basis to gather input on projects being planned around the region?

The answer, of course, is that the economy is booming, and a good economy generates the taxes the federal and state government need to build and improve roads and bridges.

Not everyone buys the state's contention that the plan will run short of money before it is carried out. And as long as economic conditions remain as they are, even more people will hard time buying it.