Public invited to discuss northeast Missouri unfunded transportation needs Wednesday in Mexico, Mo.

HANNIBAL, Mo. — Missouri’s transportation system has 33,825 miles of roads and 10,387 bridges. The Missouri Department of Transportation, working with its statewide regional planning partners, have identified $1 billion in annual unfunded needs.

From the broader unfunded needs, MoDOT has developed a high priority unfunded needs list to guide the development of projects into funded projects as state and federal transportation funds increase. This is the list the public is invited to comment on.

The public is invited to a meeting to discuss the draft updated high priority unfunded needs list for transportation in Northeast Missouri from 4:30-6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 30, at the Audrain County Courthouse, 101 N. Jefferson, Mexico, Mo. 65265. For those unable to attend the meeting in person, the presentation materials and a comment form will be available online at https://www.modot.org/unfundedneeds.

MoDOT staff have worked with metropolitan planning organizations and regional planning commissions throughout the state to develop a list of high priority unfunded road and bridge needs. The draft project-specific lists include $4.6 billion in road and bridge projects in three tiers.

Tier one includes $528 million and includes projects to be accomplished in the time of the current five-year STIP as federal and state funding levels increase. These projects have good estimates. Tier two is worth $2 billion and includes projects beyond the current STIP timeframe with broader estimates. Tier three includes $2.1 billion of projects also beyond the current STIP timeframe with broader estimates. In addition, DOT staff worked with the planning partners to identify $1 billion in multimodal needs.

In a press release, MoDOT director Patrick McKenna said, “Even with additional revenue, transportation needs greatly outweigh funding available, and we are working through the challenges of increasing project costs due to higher inflation.

“Across every region of the state, feedback from Missourians has consistently prioritized maintaining the existing system as the highest priority. Other priorities include projects that improve safety, spur economic growth, and provide more transportation choices. We appreciate Missourians input in this new draft as we work to prioritize the projects that provide the greatest value to taxpayers.”

The draft document and comment forms will be available online through Dec. 21 at https://www.modot.org/unfundedneeds. For more information, call MoDOT at 888-ASK-MODOT (275-6636) or visit www.modot.org.