The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission approved a plan Wednesday that prioritizes and allocates funds for transportation projects across the state for the next five years.
The STIP, or Statewide Transportation Improvement Program, is the largest to date and includes an influx of infrastructure money approved by the state legislature. It lists transportation projects, planned by state and regional planning agencies, to take place from July 1, 2025 - June 30, 2029.
“The available state road and bridge funds along with the work of the General Assembly and Gov. Parson continue to result in historic investments in transportation infrastructure that benefit Missourians across the state,” Missouri Department of Transportation Director Patrick McKenna said in a news release.
Together, there’s more than $14.6 billion in state and federal funds to conduct maintenance improvements on Missouri’s 33,811 miles of roads. The federal reimbursement for the plan is $7.6 billion.
Machelle Watkins is an engineer with the Missouri Department of Transportation’s central district. She says historic levels of infrastructure funding will mean a historic level of orange cones on the state’s roadways.
“People are going to see more construction zones. We ask that they be patient with those, that they follow recommended speed limits through those construction zones. Follow the recommended signing through there and always, always buckle up and put their phone down,” Watkins said.
Among the projects on the docket are improvements to Interstate 70. Watkins said I-70 construction alone will cost the state $2.8 billion dollars.
“Well, it certainly is an exciting project, and work has actually started this week on that segment in central Missouri, that segment runs from the US 63 connector over to Route 54 Kingdom City,” she said.
Approximately 200 miles of I-70 will be widened to three lanes in each direction.
More information about infrastructure upgrades throughout the state is available at modot.org.
