Bills address widening interstates
Published March 9, 2007
The way people get around the state of Missouri could be drastically changed by two bills in the General Assembly that look to widen the state's major highways.
One bill, sponsored by Sen. Bill Stouffer, R-Excelsior Springs, would increase the state sales tax by 1 cent in order to fund the widening of Interstates 70 and 44 to eight lanes throughout the state.
"I think it's obvious that the infrastructure in Missouri, and those two roads in particular, are woefully over capacity," Stouffer said.
The bill would send the proposed tax increase to voters in August 2008. Stouffer said the highway, which was built to last 20 years, has now been used for more than 50 years.
"The reason I introduced the bill was to start the conversation about what we'll do about infrastructure and how we'll pay for it," he said. "I don't know if I have the golden answer, but I think it's extremely important that we start talking about this."
Stouffer said upgrading the interstate would help Missouri compete with other states in distributing goods throughout the country.
"Somebody's going to distribute east and west, and it's either going to be Missouri, Iowa or Arkansas," he said. "Missouri is in the middle of the country, and we have the opportunity to be the distribution point for the rest of the country."
The Missouri Department of Transportation projected in a 2001 report that by 2030, 79,900 vehicles per day will travel on I-70 in the Columbia area. Stouffer said the highway was built to handle 20,000 vehicles.
The other bill, sponsored by Sen. Matt Bartle, R-Lee's Summit, would allow for toll highways to be built in Missouri.
Just as Stouffer hopes his bill will start discussion, Bartle's Chief Of Staff Todd Scott said Bartle has the same intentions for his bill.
Scott said toll roads would be another effective means of funding infrastructure upgrades.
"(Bartle) looks at I-70, especially where he travels most, and this is a highway that was designed 40 or 50 years ago and designed to handle a lesser load than it is handling," Scott said. "It needs to be taken down to the dirt and rebuilt rather than re-patched. It's time to do something drastic."
Scott said there is some debate about whether the state Constitution would allow toll roads, but said Bartle thinks tolls are "the only real way to get this done."