Smooth riding

For several years as Missouri faced a crunch of not enough revenue to pay for all its growing programs, highways across the state suffered. But when voters approved Amendment 3 in 2004, a significant source of funding for roads and bridges opened up. By giving funds that had been previously diverted from automobile sales taxes and fuel taxes back to the Missouri Department of Transportation, the agency was able to issue $1.7 in highway bonds to pay for its Smooth Roads Initiative covering 2,200 miles of highways.

Motorists in this area have seen considerable evidence of the initiative, which is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year. There are seven major projects in Cape Girardeau and adjoining counties. All of Interstate 55 from Ste. Genevieve County to the Arkansas line is affected.

Along with its budget problems, MoDOT went through some changes in leadership as well. By and large, the road improvements being made across the state are regarded as a positive upgrade for highways in general.

There are still some major highways concerns, such as how to handle the massive volume of east-west traffic between St. Louis and Kansas City. But the trend for MoDOT is clearly on the upswing, and that's good news from motorists in the Show Me State.