At a meeting of the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission this week, transportation projects planned by state and regional planning agencies for fiscal years 2024-2028 were approved as part of the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP).
Notably, these five years of efforts will include construction to widen and improve I-70, repair low-volume minor roads and upgrade railroad safety crossings. STIP will provide nearly $14 billion in federal and state revenues for all methods of transportation over the next five years, with the bulk – $10.4 billion – going to road and bridge construction contractor awards. This will work out to roughly $2.1 billion per year.
“This STIP is not immune to the ongoing record inflation and increasing cost of doing transportation improvements,” Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) Director Patrick McKenna said. “In fact, this program accounts for $1.2 billion in inflation impacts, which would equate to a year’s worth of funding in previous programs. To manage these fiscal constraints, this program didn’t add a significant number of projects. We had to adjust the schedules on nearly 400 projects to manage the funding availability each year. We’ll continue our asset management efforts while also making critical improvements and upgrades to corridors and safety features across the state.”
Approval by the commission followed last month’s public review of the draft STIP. Now, it will pursue maintenance improvements to nearly 34,000 miles of roads and 10,400 bridges. Additionally, funding will benefit certain non-highway modes of transportation, and the project details include detailed looks at planned operations and maintenance activities spanning the next three years.