JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The 21st Century Missouri Transportation Task Force held its inaugural public meeting in Jefferson City Wednesday afternoon, the first of seven such meetings which will take place around the state each month until December.
Rep. Kevin Corlew and Sen. Dave Schatz chaired the task force and introduced the goals of the group, to hear from expert opinions and the public on how best to give funds for the state’s transportation infrastructure like roads and bridges.
“The issue of fixing our roads and bridges has come up and nearly every community meeting that I’ve attended over the past four years,” Corlew said in prepared introductory remarks. “There seems to be a consensus among Missourians that we need to do something, but as of yet, there’s been no consensus about what needs to be done. That’s what this task force is about.”
Schatz was more blunt in his assessment, saying the state had failed to keep pace with inflation and that the purchasing power of the Missouri Department of Transportation had fallen drastically over the last three decades as a result.
“One of the basic roles of government at its core is to fund infrastructure and we have not kept up with our commitment to do that,” Schatz said.
Much of the discussion during this introductory meeting propagated from the MoDOT Director Patrick McKenna’s testimony. McKenna presented a three-part informational analysis of the current state of MoDOT: how MoDOT generates revenue and spends those funds, the needs of the transportation infrastructure going forward, and how MoDOT has still been successful in providing much-needed services while spending nearly $4.5 billion less in the last decade.
Despite that last point, McKenna still stressed that Missouri’s system is woefully underfunded, especially to other states around the country.
“Even with these measures, we are dealing with a transportation system that’s ranked 47th in the nation in funding. For us to be able to build upon the good work that we do, and to invest in the economic future of this state, it’s also important to understand what the gaps are,” McKenna said.
The numbers grow more stark when compared to Missouri’s eight surrounding states. The Show-Me State has 33,873 miles of road, double what every neighboring state has, aside from Kentucky which has 27,620 miles of road. Missouri also has the lowest gasoline tax of all of its neighboring states at 17 cents per gallon (tied with Oklahoma) and one of the lowest diesel tax rates.
While raising the gas tax has been a go-to for many transportation advocates, some have questioned whether raising it is the best solution. Sen. Bill Eigel pointed out during testimony that as fuel efficiency increases, raising the gas tax may become counterintuitive as it could produce diminishing returns in the future.
Corlew said after just one task force meeting, it was not yet the time to be deciding on which solution would be best for the state and that all options, including toll roads, would be considered.
“Obviously some of the members have their preferred methods, but at this point, we’re not at the place to take any [options] off the table,” Corlew said.
The next task force hearing will take place at Kansas City’s Union Station July 26.
