Changes Ahead at MoDOT

NEWS

Missouri Department of Transportation

Transportation Funding Crisis Forces Bolder Direction for MoDOT

For more information, contact Sally Oxenhandler, (573) 751-7456 or Community Relations, (573) 751-2840.
JEFFERSON CITY – Faced with a severe decline in funding and the inability to match federal funds in the near future, Missouri Department of Transportation Director Kevin Keith today presented a plan to the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission that includes reducing the size of the department’s staff by 1,200, closing 135 facilities and selling more than 740 pieces of equipment. The proposed direction will save $512 million that will be used for vital road and bridge projects.
We asked the director to put forth a bold plan of action to address our transportation funding crisis, and he delivered," said Commission Chair Grace Nichols. "We don’t like having to head in this direction, but the reality of our funding situation makes it necessary." For the past five years, Missouri’s state highway construction program has averaged $1.2 billion a year. Today, MoDOT presented a new, five-year construction program to the commission that is only half that amount - about $600 million a year. "We are facing a transportation funding crisis in Missouri," MoDOT Director Kevin Keith said. "Over the past year, we have worked hard to reduce the size of our workforce and cut costs, but it isn’t enough. We must take further action to become the right size to serve our customers given the severe reduction in funding for transportation." The department’s plan includes reducing the number of its district offices, which administer the state’s transportation program at the regional level, from 10 to seven. MoDOT’s current district boundaries have been virtually unchanged since 1922, when many state roads were still gravel and MoDOT used mules and wagons.
Keith's Presentation



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 News Conference



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