Yesterday, the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission approved the five-year Statewide Transportation Improvement Program, or STIP. It was first released in May by the Missouri Department of Transportation.
Covering fiscal years 2023 through 2027, the STIP “makes available $10 billion of federal and state revenues for all modes of transportation over the next five years, making it the state’s largest program,” according to a MoDOT news release.
Around $100 million comes from the Governor’s Rural Route program, addressing low-volume roads in fiscal year 2023.
“Just a few years ago, our 2016 STIP made available a fraction of this program, with only $2.6 billion,” said MoDOT Director Patrick McKenna in the news release. “The new STIP — our largest to date — is quite an achievement that has taken the collective efforts of policymakers, state leaders and the leadership of the commission, which has held firm on the need for resources to do the projects our citizens expect us to do. By working with planning partners across the state and listening to the needs of the communities we serve, we’ve made these plans to take care of this massive system.”
The program is said to be focusing on “preventive maintenance improvements” of roads and bridges, according to the news release.
Missouri has nearly 34,000 miles of roads, and 39% of its bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, according to reporting by KBIA. The state has a C- grade in infrastructure, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers.
The final version of the program plan can be found on MoDOT’s website.
