Texas County unfunded highway project priorities listed by MoDOT

Texas County residents who want to give input on unfunded MoDOT transportation needs in the area are invited to a public meeting at Perryville.

The public can view a list and provide feedback on the order of priorities that could be funded in the future. The meeting is 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday, July 25, at the Southeast Missouri Regional Planning Commission at 1 W. St. Joseph St. in Perryville. The draft document will be presented at the meeting.

In Texas County, these are the projects listed in a draft document released in July:

•Tier one: Intersection improvements at U.S. 63 and Oak Hill Drive in Houston. Estimated cost is $517,000 and could be completed within five years.

•Tier two: Capacity improvements to U.S. 63 from Highway PP to U.S. 60 near Cabool. Estimated at $15.1 million.

•Tier three: Capacity improvements to U.S. 63 from Cloverdale Road to Highway PP north of Cabool to near the Cabool city limits. Cost is $32.1 million.

MoDOT said all would improve economic growth and safety.

MoDOT said Missouri’s transportation system is a tremendous asset, including 33,811 miles of roads and 10,392 bridges and culverts, making it one of the largest of any state in the nation. MoDOT, working with its regional planning partners, has outlined a draft High Priority Unfunded Needs listing, which identifies $1.1 billion in annual unfunded transportation needs for the system. The list was created to guide the development of needs into funded projects as state and federal transportation funds become available in future years.

The public is invited to review the list and provide feedback on the order of priorities that could be funded in the future.

MoDOT staff have worked with metropolitan planning organizations and regional planning commissions throughout the state — such as the South Central Ozark Council of Governments at Pomona —  to develop a list of high priority unfunded road and bridge needs. The draft lists include $4.4 billion in road and bridge needs in three tiers. Tier one includes $477 million and includes needs that could be accomplished in the time of the current five-year Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) as federal and state funding levels increase. These needs have good estimates. Tier two is worth $1.92 billion and includes needs beyond the current STIP timeframe with broader estimates. Tier three includes $1.96 billion of needs also beyond the current STIP timeframe with broader estimates. In addition, MoDOT staff worked with planning partners to identify $1 billion in multimodal needs.

The draft document and comment forms will be available online through Friday, Aug. 23, at https://www.modot.org/unfundedneeds .  For more information, call MoDOT at 888-ASK-MODOT (275-6636) or visit www.modot.org .

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