Stagnant state revenues, uncertain federal funding, rising employee benefit costs and the end of borrowed funds from the voter mandated Amendment 3 bonding program have caused the Missouri Department of Transportation to set a new direction for the next five years.
Missourians have told us our first priority should be taking care of the system we already have. We have listened. MoDOT will concentrate our limited dollars on keeping major roads in their current condition and improving smaller roads to the best of our ability. Commitments made in our five-year Statewide Transportation Plan have diminished greatly over the past several years, but they will be delivered as promised.
We will not be able to meet other real needs. We will not be able to make significant safety improvements; address congestion; assist and support economic development; use more cost effective long-term pavement treatments; deliver corridor improvements such as added lanes; or deal with major bridges.
Our goal is to generate $203 million in cost savings over the next five years beginning with the elimination of 400 salaried positions. That means an immediate hiring freeze on most positions that become vacant, making sure the right people are in the right jobs and reducing the number of offices and buildings the department owns.
Additionally, while we have the fourth lowest administrative costs of all departments of transportation, we will cut even more. There will be reductions in spending on vehicles and materials inventory. We will do less mowing and litter pickup and signs will be replaced less frequently. We will also find a less expensive way to do striping and reduce our use of consultants.
By implementing these belt-tightening measures over the next five years, we will seek to hold together the improvements we’ve made on Missouri’s transportation system and sustain the trust we have rebuilt with customers.
MoDOT will rise to the challenge, but this strategy will only get us through the next five years. Without significant increases in funding during this period, our highways will return to the bad old days when people knew when they had gotten to Missouri because the roads got worse.
Jefferson City, Mo. —
