MoDOT director warns of I-70 traffic backups from upcoming bridge rehab
Dec. 14, 2018
The state's top transportation official says bridge should be replaced, but funding is unavailable after gas-tax measure fails
The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) director Patrick McKenna recently warned about future massive traffic backups on I-70 in the central part of the state, after voters rejected a 10-cent gas increase on the November 2018 ballot.
According to Missourinet, McKenna said in a press briefing with mid-Missouri reporters that the agency only has funding for a $15 million rehabilitation on the I-70 Rocheport bridge, meaning lane closures could remain in place for seven to nine months. Additionally, the MoDOT director anticipates three to eight hours of daily traffic backups from the bridge rehabilitation project. which is scheduled to begin in 2020.
The I-70 Rocheport bridge is over 3,000 ft long and was built in 1960. McKenna believes the structure should be replaced, but lamented that MoDOT lacks the $200 million needed for a bridge replacement as a result of Prop D's failure.
Missouri residents rejected Proposition D by about 173,000 votes, but the measure had around 1.1. million votes in its favor. The passage of the measure was crucial for funding transportation infrastructure in the state of Missouri, as McKenna indicated that MoDOT has a backlog of $8 billion in unfunded needs.
