MoDOT Director Pete Rahn will present his annual State of Transportation Address to state legislators Feb. 6. The speech, given each year at the state Capitol to a joint session of the Missouri Senate and House of Representatives, gives an overview of the past year’s accomplishments for our agency, and a look forward to important transportation challenges ahead. MoDOT is the only state agency that receives this annual speech opportunity.

This year’s speech is expected to highlight MoDOT’s continuing road and bridge improvements as well as safety accomplishment. Most notably, Missouri has dramatically reduced highway fatalities over the past two years – a 24 percent decrease to bring the statewide total below 1,000 for the first time in 15 years.

“It’s a great privilege to address the state legislature each year,” Rahn said. “We’ve accomplished so much this past year, and I’m really excited to share our successes at the Capitol.”

This year’s address is the fifth since legislation was passed in 2003 authorizing the speech. It may also be the last, since the legislation required a speech for only five years. The requirement must be reauthorized for speeches to continue past this year.