ACP Pubs

Tom Hale

Multi-Year Highway Programs Announced
May 28, 2008

State highway departments across the country are contending with rising fuel and construction costs and an expected decline in federal revenue. Faced with these problems, it makes is tough to plan ahead. However, Illinois and Missouri transportation officials are optimistic and have outlined multi-year highway programs designed to improve their roads and bridges. 

In Illinois, Governor Rod Blagojevich announced plans for a $10.875-billion program for fiscal years 2009-2014, including $7.79 billion for the state's highway system and $3.08 billion for local roads.

According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, the proposed multi-year program will improve 5,264 miles of highway; replace or rehabilitate 905 bridges; target key projects in northeastern Illinois to address congestion; provide $477 million for construction of a new Mississippi River Bridge in the Metro East area near St. Louis; provide reinvestment in downstate Illinois for interstate highways such as I-80 from the Henry County line to west of Illinois 251 in Bureau County; provide $431 million for local benefit programs to help cities, counties and townships improve local roads and support economic development; provide funding for railroad crossing safety improvements throughout the state; and enhance highway safety as part of the department's regular highway improvement program by targeting specific fatal and severe crash locations and addressing statewide safety concerns.

Missouri Department of Transportation's (MoDOT) draft 2009-2013 transportation improvement program totals $5.78 billion, with approximately $4.35 billion going to 662 highway and bridge projects; about $790 million for other transportation modes; and approximately $640 million for local transportation programs.

MoDOT says its multi-year program includes $300 million in new construction projects because lower than expected interest rates provided additional Amendment 3 bonding capacity. The $140 million bonded amount, combined with state savings from using Practical Design on projects and local matching funds, allows the department to proceed on these new highway projects over the next five years.

However Missourians shouldn't get too excited about the new projects. As MoDOT Director Pete Rahn says, "The program we're proposing marks the shift from having the opportunity to build new projects to barely maintaining what we have."

MoDOT will transition from a construction program averaging $1.23 billion to a program of about $575 million in 2013.

Posted by Tom Hale on May 28, 2008 | Comments (1)