Senator Caleb Rowden, the incoming leader of the Missouri Senate is shutting down a newly unveiled plan to finance the long-sought widening of Interstate 70 across Missouri’s midsection.
Rowden acknowledged the proposed upgrades to the traffic-choked corridor are needed but said the financing mechanism floated by Senator Bill Eigel is not tenable.
“It’s not a feasible solution,” Rowden said during an interview with Missourinet, a statewide radio network.
Citing the state’s unprecedented $6 billion budget surplus, Eigel introduced legislation that would require the state to deposit 2% of its net general revenue into the Interstate 70 Improvement Fund. The state would also place up to $1.5 billion annually into the fund at the beginning of each calendar year.
Eigel said the legislation, in addition to federal matching funds, would raise enough money to widen the interstate from four to eight lanes, through the whole state, except for urban cores, he said.
Eigel also said money could be spent on fixing the bottleneck at Interstates 64 and 70 in Wentzville.
“The I-70 project is precisely the kind of thing that folks are looking for when we talk about, you know, what does a better Missouri look like in 2024 and beyond,” Eigel said. “It’s one where we’re taking care of our most important roads; it’s one where we’re making investments in our infrastructure.”
I-70 was designed and built between 1956 and 1965. The Missouri Department of Transportation (MODOT) says its oldest sections are 60 years old and its youngest sections are 51 years old.
Among major projects underway on the busy, transcontinental highway is the $240 million replacement of the bridge crossing the Missouri River west of Columbia.
The bridge carries an estimated 12.5 million vehicles per year. More than 3 million of those vehicles are trucks hauling loads to 48 other states, making the bridge a vital link in the nation’s transportation system.
Rowden didn’t disagree that the work on the overall roadway is needed but said the funding scheme would put the entire cost of fixing the highway on Missourians.
“It’s a problem we’ve got to fix. I just don’t think saddling Missourians with the entire load is the right answer,” Rowden said.
Instead, Rowden suggested that relying more on proceeds from the state’s motor fuel tax would spread the cost to out-of-state motorists who could provide an estimated 40% of the cost.
Rowden also suggested that transforming the interstate into a toll road would generate money from out-of-state travelers to help pay for the work.
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Source: STLToday.com
