JEFFERSON CITY — Nine road and bridge projects in the Columbia area could be made possible if the fuel tax increase passes, according to a transportation planner from Columbia.
Mitch Skov, senior planner for the Columbia Area Transportation Study Organization, told Missouri Department of Transportation officials at a meeting Tuesday that the projects — originally considered in 2014 — could be implemented with extra funding if Missouri residents vote in favor of Proposition D on Nov. 6.
The primary need for funding, on both the state and local level in Missouri, is for critical bridge rehabilitation, Patrick McKenna, the department’s director, said.
“We cannot reconstruct what we don’t have the money to reconstruct,” he said, “and that’s the situation here.”
McKenna brought up the Rocheport Bridge as an example of a critical piece of infrastructure in dire need of funding. The bridge’s current capital plan of $15 million set aside for future rehabilitation is simply not enough to do the kind of work that is required, he said.
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