MoDOT Outlines Federal Highway Bill's Preliminary Impact

JEFFERSON CITY - A preliminary review of the recently passed federal highway bill shows Missouri has been allocated an average of $862 million a year for the next five years for road and bridge projects.  The estimated federal funding is about $200 million more a year than what the department received in the last federal highway bill.  

"We're continuing to analyze this very detailed and complex piece of legislation to determine its full impact on our statewide transportation system," said MoDOT Director Pete Rahn. "However, one thing is very clear. Our congressional delegation did an excellent job in making sure Missouri was well represented in this bill."

While that is welcome news for the state, Rahn said the bulk of that funding is already committed to projects in the department's five-year construction program or is earmarked for specific projects.  The department estimates about $30 million more a year will be available for additional road and bridge projects than was previously anticipated in the five-year plan.

"We are very pleased to receive this additional revenue," said Rahn. "We'll be working with our planning partners to identify our most pressing needs and put these funds to good use making substantial improvements to our highways and bridges.  

"However, because we anticipated much of this increase in federal funding when we put together our construction program for the next five years, we won't see a big windfall of additional projects.This funding is critical, though, to keeping our construction program on track as planned."