[0:00] gregory

[0:02] Schroer

[0:05] Washington Weber

[0:14] right we do not have a quorum

[0:15] but we will not be taking any

[0:17] votes so we do not need a quorum

[0:19] today. Today, especially with

[0:21] the tighter budget outlook

[0:24] coming for f28. I want to bring

[0:26] the director in here and have

[0:27] him give an update on the

[0:28] legislatively designated

[0:32] projects that have come to modot

[0:33] here over the past few years and

[0:34] just get an update on where

[0:37] those projects stand and which

[0:38] ones that we need to make sure

[0:40] that are protected through this

[0:41] budget cycle so Mr. Director

[0:42] you may proceed when you are

[0:43] ready.

[1:00] So Mr cochair members of the

[1:02] committee it's a pleasure to be

[1:04] here to give you an update

[1:06] not only on our projects but all

[1:08] the other initiatives that we're

[1:10] doing so I I prepared some

[1:12] testimony and I'll I'll kind of

[1:14] use it as the highlights not

[1:16] read it to you directly but it

[1:17] does give you some

[1:18] some of the detail

[1:22] you know what modot our mission

[1:22] is to provide a worldclass

[1:24] transportation system that's

[1:27] safe innovative, reliable and

[1:28] dedicated to serving the

[1:29] customers for a prosperous

[1:29] Missouri

[1:34] that's kind of gives the great

[1:36] baseline of what wer try to

[1:36] accomplish every day with our

[1:37] team

[1:40] and when I took over as director

[1:42] I said there's really4 things if

[1:44] you had to kind of say what does

[1:46] success look like and it's

[1:46] really deliver the program

[1:49] restore the capability of our

[1:49] operations team

[1:53] make sure that it's safe for our

[1:54] folks to do their work and save

[1:56] for the people that use the

[1:57] roadway and provide outstanding

[1:57] customer service

[1:58] so

[2:01] fairly simple concepts that are

[2:02] all really difficult to do

[2:06] but I wanted to just start on

[2:08] really to directly answer the

[2:10] question that's been put in

[2:13] front of us by the cochair

[2:14] underliver the program

[2:16] you know we have had

[2:20] unprecedented success over the

[2:22] last 10 years in delivering

[2:24] over4,200 projects for a total

[2:28] of8.3 billion dollars 3.5% under

[2:30] budget and93% on time.

[2:35] and that's a track record that I

[2:37] think probably no DOT in the

[2:38] country could live up to and

[2:39] it's really

[2:42] a reflection of the trust that

[2:44] you've put in us what our

[2:46] commission can do and the

[2:48] commission form of governance to

[2:50] actually move projects through

[2:51] the system

[2:54] and you know in the last several

[2:56] years the general assembly has

[2:58] put a huge amount of trust and

[3:00] responsibility in us by putting

[3:01] a lot of

[3:05] s ign ated money and projects

[3:08] in front of us to deliver on top

[3:09] of our normal

[3:11] operations that we do

[3:15] and so I just wanted to kind of

[3:16] kind of highlight where we're

[3:18] where we're at with that in

[3:20] front of you we've been keeping

[3:22] this document up to date since

[3:24] we started that process so this

[3:27] is kind of the the gory details

[3:29] of every project that has been

[3:32] funded with general revenue by

[3:34] the legislature since that first

[3:36] project the focus on bridge

[3:39] programme and we we keep this

[3:40] going but it's that important

[3:41] that we're able

[3:44] when you say hey here's some

[3:46] things that we want to

[3:48] accomplish this is an ongoing

[3:50] document that we keep up to date

[3:52] and we updated it just just

[3:54] recently here for this for this

[3:55] hearing to make sure that it was

[3:57] up to date and we'll do that

[3:58] again at the beginning of the

[4:00] session because there'll be

[4:01] there'll be significant progress

[4:02] in the next two months I can

[4:03] tell you so this will look

[4:04] different

[4:06] in January than it does right

[4:07] now

[4:10] but just just some basic

[4:10] highlights

[4:11] you know

[4:15] the rural routes program the

[4:16] legislature has invested over

[4:19] $340 million of general revenue

[4:22] into that program to help

[4:22] address the condition of low

[4:24] volume roads whichrily

[4:28] a roughly half of those roads

[4:30] are ineligible to get federal

[4:32] funds so it's always been a

[4:34] challenge for us to to use our

[4:37] money that you know has to be

[4:38] matched and we used to leverage

[4:39] federal funds to

[4:42] put those on those low volume

[4:44] roads so that that decision you

[4:45] made was

[4:48] made a huge difference

[4:52] to date we have made

[4:54] improvements to6,100 lane miles

[4:55] of low volume roads

[4:58] and then we have an

[5:02] additional433 that are slated to

[5:02] be done this year on top of that

[5:04] so

[5:08] you know those those minor rows

[5:10] and low volume low volume roads

[5:11] make up about28,000 miles of our

[5:11] system

[5:14] which is over84%

[5:16] and currently

[5:20] those two categories of roads

[5:21] are in8

[5:25] well over the goal that we've

[5:28] set of70 for low volume and80

[5:30] for our minor roads so that

[5:32] investment has been invaluable

[5:34] for us taking care of those

[5:38] systems that are less traveled

[5:39] but still very important

[5:44] likewise more than 100,400

[5:46] bridges across the state we are

[5:48] responsible for and we've made

[5:50] steady progress on reducing the

[5:51] number of poor bridges

[5:54] you know the general revenue

[5:56] investment in that and the focus

[5:57] on bridge programme

[6:01] has repaired or replaced over250

[6:04] poor condition bridges if you

[6:08] go back to2019 we had over900

[6:09] bridges that were in poor

[6:09] condition

[6:12] as we sit here today that number

[6:13] is726.

[6:17] and a lot of that is a direct

[6:18] result of the investment that

[6:19] the legis

[6:21] So

[6:24] if you remember that was a50

[6:26] million dollars single

[6:32] appropriation and then a $301

[6:33] million bonding proposal that

[6:33] had some triggers in it

[6:36] that were pretty important right

[6:38] that we had to get a federal

[6:38] grant to do some work on

[6:44] all of that happened we did the

[6:45] bonding we've got all the

[6:45] bridges done

[6:50] and the bonds are paid up

[6:51] will be paid off at the end of

[6:51] this year

[6:54] so we can we'll be able to put a

[6:55] bow on that one

[6:58] and call that one a success.

[7:00] Right now one of the things I

[7:02] wanted to point out is that

[7:06] debt service on low volume or on

[7:08] the focus on bridge program is

[7:09] about45

[7:14] so that'll be paid off and

[7:16] certainly we are going to make a

[7:18] proposal during this next

[7:20] legislature to continue that

[7:22] process in some way shape or

[7:23] form I think the idea of using

[7:23] that

[7:27] mechanism to do priorities that

[7:28] the legislature has is a really

[7:29] good one

[7:30] so

[7:34] I think that's a huge

[7:36] opportunity. the thing that

[7:38] we have proposed is maybe to

[7:38] continue that for another5 years

[7:43] and continue to to work on

[7:45] bridges across the state mostly

[7:47] in rural parts of this state

[7:49] where there's not as many prior

[7:50] you know they don't rise to the

[7:51] top in the

[7:54] so that would be about208

[7:56] million dollars worth of bridges

[7:58] and replace about 100. that's

[8:00] just a proposal but I wanted to

[8:01] kind of put it in front of you

[8:01] all as

[8:03] as an idea

[8:07] of course the ones that you

[8:09] hear about and the ones that are

[8:12] probably top of mind with the

[8:13] legislatively

[8:18] that have gone to the improved

[8:20] I70 program we officially and I

[8:22] I put in front of you this is

[8:23] kind of what we call it our

[8:24] place map but it gives you

[8:26] kind of where we're at and we

[8:28] also keep this one updated on a

[8:30] regular basis because it changes

[8:32] pretty often but we have5

[8:35] projects under construction

[8:38] in addition to one federally

[8:40] funded grant program to address

[8:41] truck parking

[8:43] I can tell you I was driving

[8:44] back from the airport last night

[8:47] in St. Louis at midnight and

[8:49] we're going to add another250

[8:50] truck parking spots we need

[8:56] as I was driving across I-70

[8:56] there were trucks parked

[8:58] everywhere every one of our rest

[9:02] areas was full every ramp, every

[9:03] shoulder so that'll be a great

[9:03] addition

[9:06] to our system when that gets

[9:07] done

[9:11] but I-70 is going really

[9:14] well. we've got 3 projects left

[9:16] to award we're going to do one

[9:18] in november and then two next

[9:20] year before before summer so by

[9:22] the end of really the fiscal

[9:23] year next year

[9:26] we will have every project on

[9:27] I-70 under a contract

[9:28] and most

[9:32] re ction so I'm sure if you've

[9:35] driven across I-70 you can see

[9:35] the progress that we're making

[9:41] so right now we've opened

[9:42] bridges at Green Valley at

[9:44] Columbia at Warrenton we have a

[9:46] new interchange of54 done up and

[9:47] running

[9:50] the expansion which was funded

[9:53] by traditional funding at I-64

[9:54] that ties into the Weville

[9:58] now is complete 3 lanes each

[9:59] direction up to the interchange

[10:03] and we have the first of five

[10:05] direct connections in Colombia

[10:05] open so if you're coming

[10:11] west or east70 to south63 now

[10:12] you have a direct connect ramp

[10:16] and you can see kind of what

[10:17] else is going on there at

[10:18] Colombia we're putting the big

[10:19] flyover

[10:22] in the not too distant future

[10:23] we're going to have that

[10:24] interchange

[10:24] done

[10:28] and then in in addition to the

[10:30] I-70 improvements the

[10:34] legislature put forward577

[10:35] million dollars of general

[10:35] revenue for I-44.

[10:40] and certainly the44 effort is

[10:41] underway

[10:44] right after that was passed by

[10:45] the legislature and signed by

[10:47] the governor we put $100 million

[10:49] of general revenue into the

[10:52] improvements in Springfield on

[10:54] that project and then here

[10:57] just a few months ago we broke

[11:00] ground on the 5 or470 million

[11:02] dollars design build project

[11:04] that addresses the stretch

[11:05] basically from

[11:08] just north of Springfield all

[11:10] the way down through and

[11:11] including some of the

[11:13] interchange work at Fidelity at

[11:16] I-49. a lot of that will be

[11:16] upgraded to three lanes each

[11:17] direct

[11:26] there's still a lot of other

[11:27] work that we're doing that

[11:28] basically is taking care of

[11:30] existing infrastructure on I-44

[11:32] we'll have a lot of work

[11:37] various places across the state

[11:38] about 126

[11:41] million dollars of interchange

[11:43] and and intersection

[11:44] improvements in Franklin

[11:45] County80 million dollars

[11:46] to rebuild

[11:52] so if you look across the entire

[11:54] state also we have another one

[11:55] of these place mats

[12:00] 44 is not continuous so there's

[12:02] bits there's pieces of it where

[12:04] we're working but you can see

[12:07] here both not only the general

[12:08] revenue funding but we've

[12:09] supplemented that with our

[12:09] traditional

[12:13] road road fund funding to

[12:14] make really good improvements

[12:16] across the s the entire corridor

[12:17] of I-44.

[12:17] so

[12:22] really between focus on bridge

[12:24] rural road programme I70 and

[12:28] I-44 all of those are either

[12:30] completed underway in some shape

[12:32] or form and making great

[12:38] so we're really we're really

[12:39] happy about that

[12:42] if you look at the rest of

[12:45] our program our our27 through

[12:45] 31stI

[12:50] we have about $13 billion of

[12:50] federal and state revenue for

[12:52] all modes of transportation over

[12:53] the next five years

[12:56] and really these have been the

[12:56] historic highs

[12:58] of funding

[13:06] we're starting to see kind of

[13:08] the peak of that as some of this

[13:09] general revenue

[13:14] and and certainly the other

[13:18] challenge is our federal bill

[13:20] will expire at the end of this

[13:21] month and there

[13:26] direction and sight on the

[13:26] federal bill so we're all kind

[13:27] of

[13:30] awaiting kind of what happens

[13:32] there but that's a that's a huge

[13:33] concern that we have

[13:35] we're we're working on a

[13:37] continuing resolution that's

[13:37] good till December 11th

[13:40] but what I can tell you is when

[13:42] you go through that kind of a

[13:43] process when it's two months

[13:46] hard to make commitments on

[13:48] projects because the federal

[13:49] money

[13:54] that's something we're all

[13:56] looking at and something we're

[13:58] concerned about but we're

[13:58] going to continue to do what we

[13:59] can do

[14:01] you know in general

[14:04] in previous times like this

[14:06] it usually gets worked out

[14:10] but you just got to be a

[14:10] little more cautious.

[14:16] so really with all that being

[14:17] said, you know

[14:20] this is probably the busiest

[14:21] construction season actually

[14:26] literally between our mainest

[14:28] work and the work of our

[14:30] contractors literally we're

[14:30] going to have 1000

[14:35] go out on our system so any

[14:36] corner of the state any place

[14:37] you

[14:40] going to see progress on

[14:46] I wanted just spend a little

[14:47] bit of time

[14:50] on number2 which is restoring

[14:51] the capability of our operations

[14:54] team you know we lost a lot of

[14:56] folks we lost a lot of momentum

[14:59] on being able to do things that

[15:02] our team does across the state

[15:04] and certainly we have asked in

[15:05] the budget process

[15:10] add some positions for our front

[15:12] line on the ground maintenance

[15:13] workers and thank you for

[15:15] it's it's shown

[15:19] dividends we are we are able to

[15:20] take care of a lot of those

[15:22] things that I I kind of

[15:26] dubbed as windshield issues you

[15:27] know we get to the stuff you

[15:28] have to get to you've got to put

[15:29] up the stop sign. you've got to

[15:31] patch the potholes. you got to

[15:32] do the stuff that is safety

[15:34] related but a lot of times

[15:34] without the

[15:40] trash it's the mowing it's the

[15:43] things that that you notice when

[15:44] you drive down the road and

[15:46] we've made tremendous progress

[15:47] on that front

[15:51] look at our labor hours spent on

[15:53] on sign maintenance we've got

[15:55] about 160,000 labor hours this

[15:55] year

[16:00] litter pick up about 139,000

[16:04] striping45,000 sweeping29,000

[16:05] and I know those numbers

[16:06] probably don't mean a lot to you

[16:08] but if you look at those

[16:10] compared to our five year

[16:11] average on doing that kind of

[16:13] work they're up on everyone

[16:14] anywhere from 10% more

[16:20] this year to as much as25% more

[16:22] than that and that's just work

[16:23] hours performing those kind of

[16:23] activities so

[16:26] our crews across the state

[16:27] are working hard to make sure

[16:27] that we're

[16:30] taking care of those issues and

[16:32] I think I've gotten some

[16:34] feedback from a lot of you and

[16:35] some others

[16:38] we're we're going to continue on

[16:39] that front

[16:43] the other thing that we are

[16:45] really focused on is is really

[16:45] the safety of our folks

[16:50] the behavior of the public is

[16:51] pretty atrocious

[16:54] our folks that are on the ground

[16:56] every day see things that would

[17:01] driving

[17:04] a lot of the things that

[17:06] we're dealing with so we're

[17:06] having to spend a little more

[17:08] effort on protecting our team

[17:10] we're putting more TMAs out

[17:12] there when we're doing work to

[17:13] protect them

[17:17] trying to do work at the right

[17:19] times but in work zones this

[17:20] year there have been24 people

[17:21] killed

[17:24] none of those have been modot

[17:25] employees they've been the

[17:26] public so these are dangerous

[17:27] places for our folks

[17:31] for the public if they if they

[17:33] don't do the things they need to

[17:34] do which is drive the work zones

[17:35] speed

[17:46] on the bigger safety front I

[17:46] think from the public

[17:47] perspective

[17:50] we have seen a year over year

[17:51] decline in fa

[17:56] this year year to date we're

[17:58] still5% under last year which

[18:03] we're seeing some real progress

[18:05] in distracted driving. one of

[18:06] the things that the legislature

[18:08] did was pass the sitting's

[18:09] benning distracted driving law

[18:13] and that has made a difference

[18:15] we've askedcambridge

[18:16] Telematics is one of the

[18:18] companies that insurance

[18:19] companies use to figure out what

[18:19] people are doing

[18:22] and from the data that they

[18:24] collect they've determined

[18:27] there's about a5% decrease in

[18:27] distracted driving

[18:30] from the first year that law was

[18:31] passed

[18:31] till now

[18:36] and so you know there were97

[18:38] distracted fatalities and

[18:39] distracted driving fatalities in

[18:39] Missouri in2025.

[18:42] and if we can get a5

[18:47] but there's still probably a lot

[18:49] of underreporting of distracted

[18:50] driving. I think that's one of

[18:52] the challenges that we face but

[18:55] it's progress nonetheless so you

[18:56] know we're asking people in the

[18:58] last three months of the year

[19:00] which are sometimes some of the

[19:00] most highly

[19:03] you know fatality laden months

[19:06] to take extra time to make sure

[19:07] they

[19:10] slow down and don't drive

[19:11] impaired

[19:14] if we can do that we can talk

[19:15] about 1/4 year in a row

[19:17] that that will happen

[19:22] and then the last one was making

[19:23] sure that we focus on customers

[19:24] you know I made the

[19:26] commitment I think when when I

[19:28] first took this job to say we

[19:30] need to be more available to the

[19:32] public we're doing a lot more

[19:34] public meetings that also

[19:35] included the

[19:42] to make sure that we have that

[19:44] relationship and that I hope you

[19:45] see that

[19:47] the commission has made a point

[19:48] that when they're traveling they

[19:49] do coffee with

[19:54] some some take advantage and

[19:54] some don't but we've had some

[19:56] really good conversations about

[19:58] kind of the local issues it's an

[19:59] opportunity

[20:03] and then then I hope you've had

[20:04] the chance to interact with your

[20:06] local teams our area

[20:08] engineers are on the ground all

[20:09] over the state

[20:10] and certainly are the experts

[20:18] we've made a concerted effort to

[20:20] try to make sure we're doing

[20:22] that. I think last year we we

[20:24] determined that we had a public

[20:26] meeting somewhere in the state

[20:27] on a project every week

[20:29] and many weeks we'd have two or

[20:29] three

[20:33] so we've had a lot of of public

[20:36] outreaches we try to put our our

[20:37] program in place

[20:40] and certainly working with our

[20:41] planning partners throughout the

[20:41] state

[20:48] we just are finishing up our our

[20:49] meetings across

[20:52] unfunded needs process that kind

[20:53] of

[20:58] a lot of great conversations

[20:58] around the state on what that

[20:59] should look like going forward

[21:04] I kind of wanted to just end

[21:06] though with the kind of the

[21:09] discussion of certainly the

[21:10] cost of doing business is going

[21:11] up

[21:16] high inflation during the COVID

[21:18] years it kind of ramped back

[21:19] down to what I would call a more

[21:20] normal level in the last few

[21:21] years

[21:24] but we're seeing it ramp up

[21:26] again everything we do is energy

[21:27] related.

[21:29] and we all know what energy

[21:30] prices are doing

[21:33] and it's it's having an adverse

[21:33] impact on what we do

[21:37] so whether it's the trucks that

[21:38] we buy which come from

[21:42] problems but but basically

[21:42] everything

[21:48] So5 dollars a gallon diesel5

[21:54] I was at a conference in

[21:54] California last week

[21:56] gallon

[22:02] I mean I filled up my gas rental

[22:04] car and it was6 dollars6

[22:08] but you know that

[22:10] that's something we're facing

[22:12] and I think it is we talk about

[22:14] the peak of the curve in funding

[22:18] it's it's not a crisis it's not

[22:18] something we have to address

[22:20] today but we've got to start

[22:21] talking about what is

[22:24] know do we need to think about

[22:26] indexing the fuel tax? Do we

[22:27] need to think

[22:33] efficiency of cars maybe not

[22:34] generating any more gross

[22:36] receipts but if we don't

[22:41] with revenue with inflation

[22:42] chewing up at the bottom

[22:46] just something that we have on

[22:48] our radar it's hard to talk

[22:50] about that when you have a

[22:51] record size program and you're

[22:51] doing construction everywhere

[22:53] but if you wait till you get to

[22:53] the

[22:56] backside of the curve it's too

[22:57] late and then it's hard to

[22:58] recover

[23:00] so that's just kind of a

[23:04] I think with that I will quit

[23:05] and

[23:06] be

[23:12] right, any questions for the

[23:13] director?

[23:18] Represent buttsir to inquire

[23:20] proceed thank you very much

[23:22] appreciate your presentation. I

[23:22] had two quick questions so

[23:26] the one is every time and

[23:28] obviously I'm driving from St.

[23:30] Louis to Jeff City on70 all the

[23:32] time and I'm just not really

[23:34] that I seemodadd the signs are

[23:36] there the workers are there, the

[23:38] driving is still crazy when you

[23:40] have construction zones is there

[23:44] more does there need to be more

[23:44] communication with like the

[23:48] highway patrol and you know the

[23:50] local sheriffs and even police

[23:52] departments I marvel at the lack

[23:54] and this is not a modi thing but

[23:56] maybe just if you're saying hey

[23:56] you know that's stretched

[23:58] through like warrenton Wright

[24:00] City and all that it's a

[24:02] dangerous stretch and you would

[24:04] think with the fatalities we've

[24:06] had and the accidents there

[24:07] would just be more of a police

[24:08] presence and I just think all of

[24:10] us as legislators yourself as a

[24:11] director ofmodo

[24:14] t that that story needs to be

[24:15] told. I hate to

[24:18] pick on outstate municipalities

[24:20] like that but I'm like I really

[24:20] don't believe

[24:24] at 10 a.m. you're responding to

[24:26] emergency911 calls the way they

[24:27] are in the city of St. Louis.

[24:30] just the presence of the vehicle

[24:30] with their cherries on top I

[24:32] think slows things down and a

[24:34] trooper just driving along at55

[24:35] miles an hour

[24:38] you know we do a lot that's one

[24:40] the 2nd 2nd part is I loved your

[24:42] last comment because eight years

[24:44] ago and I've loved working on

[24:44] transportation issues all eight

[24:46] years we were behind on the

[24:48] curve eight years ago and it was

[24:52] critical and just a parting

[24:54] thought that I've left20 times

[24:55] on the house floor and that is

[24:56] yes we need to index fixed

[25:00] charged things like the gas tax

[25:04] even though we increase it if we

[25:06] would just index it gradually

[25:06] every year to at least meet

[25:08] inflation. we won't be losing

[25:10] dollars so that's more a comment

[25:12] but the first one I'd like to

[25:13] know if is there more

[25:14] communication that we could be

[25:16] having at all levels because

[25:16] doggone it just during the

[25:18] middle of the day I just don't

[25:19] see much law enforcement

[25:22] yeah we have we actually have on

[25:24] I-70 an ongoing task force

[25:26] project by project with local

[25:28] law enforcement and then a

[25:28] global one with the highway

[25:30] patrol. They they have made a

[25:34] huge effort on enforcementer

[25:35] they

[25:36] they challenged with staffing

[25:37] just like a lot of places are

[25:42] I can tell you last night I

[25:42] drove home from the airport at

[25:44] 10 o'clock last night and there

[25:46] were of course we were doing a

[25:48] lot of night work but we I

[25:49] saw

[25:51] between warrenton and westville

[25:51] two troopers

[25:54] and two local

[25:56] so I was really happy last

[25:58] night because people were

[26:00] behaving but you're right I mean

[26:00] certainly more enforcement would

[26:01] would

[26:02] make things better

[26:06] but we're we're constantly

[26:08] talking about that with not only

[26:10] law enforcement but other first

[26:11] responders

[26:12] because if something balls up

[26:16] you know it causes a lot of

[26:20] problems and so far I can I

[26:20] think I can say this we haven't

[26:22] seen the latest quarter numbers

[26:24] but actually

[26:28] there are the same number of

[26:28] crashes on I-70

[26:30] post or

[26:34] preconstruction as there are

[26:35] during

[26:37] and one of the problems with

[26:38] I70, the reason we needed to

[26:40] make some improvements is

[26:42] because that quarter became so

[26:43] unreliable

[26:44] because of crashes

[26:46] you know, I mean you just

[26:48] couldn't count on being able to

[26:49] drive across the state

[26:51] without running into some kind

[26:54] of a big crash and so right now

[26:55] at least quarter of a ago

[26:58] it was kind of mind blowing to

[27:00] me is that the number of crashes

[27:01] has not gone up during

[27:01] construction.

[27:02] which is

[27:06] pretty amazing to me

[27:14] just to build off your comment

[27:14] there before I go to

[27:16] Representative Burton

[27:18] so the number of crashes on I-70

[27:20] hasn't increased but just it

[27:22] it's causing more blockages

[27:24] because of the more confined

[27:24] kids you've lost all that

[27:25] shoulder space because you're

[27:26] working that's right. sometimes

[27:28] it takes longer to clear them so

[27:31] that so the the delay is more

[27:33] and certainly that's one of

[27:34] the reasons when I said we're

[27:36] having these kind of task forces

[27:37] with all first responders

[27:40] is to make sure we can clear

[27:41] them quicker because it does

[27:42] have other impacts right? People

[27:45] people start using local roads

[27:47] and you know we get a lot of of

[27:47] feedback from

[27:48] some

[27:53] pushing your traffic off on our

[27:55] roads and so that's why we're

[27:56] trying to have those ongoing

[27:57] dialogues

[28:03] but yes you're right exactly

[28:04] right Representative Burton

[28:10] thank you Mr Cha to inquirer

[28:10] Chair.

[28:12] Hi gentlemen, how are you?

[28:13] excellent

[28:16] I know you touched on this a

[28:18] little bit but how ismodot

[28:19] ensuring a

[28:24] federal matching funds are not

[28:25] left on the table

[28:28] we never we never have and never

[28:28] will leave any federal funds on

[28:29] the table.

[28:30] we make sure

[28:32] because there's a limit

[28:34] everybody thinks there's like an

[28:36] infinite amount and you just

[28:38] keep matching there there's an

[28:41] allocated amount every year and

[28:41] we make sure that we get that

[28:45] and it's among it's it's

[28:46] through many programs so you

[28:48] can't just say you know there's

[28:49] a big bucket of money there are

[28:52] literally tens of wies of I

[28:53] don't know how many programs but

[28:54] there's a lot and you all you

[28:56] all are always being proactive

[28:57] and looking and seeing what's

[28:58] offered that would be like

[29:00] malpractice for us not to do

[29:02] that when it's an eightyw match

[29:04] in fact there's there's a thing

[29:06] in that happens every August

[29:07] that's called august

[29:07] redistribution

[29:10] and it's really not more money

[29:12] it's really to get the authority

[29:13] to use

[29:17] other places in the country and

[29:18] we're not taking it from states

[29:20] these are this comes out of

[29:20] programs like

[29:24] you know the tiffy alone program

[29:26] and things like that but once

[29:26] you get to the end of the year

[29:27] if you've got your ducks in a

[29:28] row

[29:30] you can ask for more of that

[29:32] spending authority and so like

[29:34] this year we asked for another2

[29:38] but it really

[29:42] it really requires that we take

[29:44] care of our business and that

[29:45] our locals take care of their

[29:47] business that's the biggest

[29:48] challenge OK thank you thank you

[29:50] we're certainly matching every

[29:52] dollar that we can get our hands

[29:54] on excellent it sounds like you

[29:54] went to a conference

[29:58] regarding transportation was

[30:00] there anything that you learned

[30:02] from that conference that other

[30:03] states are doing that you would

[30:03] like to bring here

[30:06] you know when I go to these

[30:09] conferences it reaffirms that

[30:10] we're doing a lot of good things

[30:12] in Missouri because a lot of

[30:13] things that they're

[30:13] kind of

[30:15] concerned about we

[30:20] have already kind of tackled but

[30:22] the biggest the biggest concern

[30:22] right now is reauthors the

[30:26] the transport the federal

[30:28] transportation bill and not

[30:30] having a replacement for that

[30:32] that's why it's got I think

[30:33] every state in the country

[30:34] concerned. OK, I just wanted to,

[30:36] I just wanted to ask that and

[30:37] I'm going to just go through

[30:40] pretty quick here how ismoatt

[30:42] looking this winter

[30:44] how many employees short are we

[30:46] where do we stand when it

[30:46] comes to that

[30:49] you know I'll just be pretty

[30:50] frank here we are doing really

[30:51] well through

[30:54] we were net positive hiring

[30:58] for maintenance month after

[30:59] month after month and we hit a

[30:59] wall

[31:02] yeah that was going to be my

[31:03] next question was what is the

[31:04] current turnover rate? Is it

[31:07] getting better or worse? I would

[31:08] say for all the hiring

[31:13] after the last four months were

[31:13] net negative for the year

[31:18] you know that's that's a

[31:20] challenge and can you compare

[31:22] that to last year? Is that where

[31:24] we were last year or net we're

[31:26] net better this year than last

[31:29] year but not by not by as much

[31:31] as to what we need ok

[31:35] how are you feeling about the

[31:36] speed limit increase? How is

[31:38] that process going? I saw that

[31:39] there is some pushback in the

[31:42] Ozarks does it seem like the

[31:44] commission is is

[31:46] excited about increasing the

[31:47] speed limit Are they hesitant

[31:50] where does that stand? I think

[31:52] we're being very methodical

[31:53] about it

[31:54] you know raising the speed

[32:06] could potentially have negative

[32:07] impacts

[32:10] so the approach that we've taken

[32:11] is

[32:16] objective criteria to look at

[32:17] every rural inter

[32:20] to make the decision to try to

[32:22] not make anything worse

[32:24] that process is underway

[32:28] the commitment that we would

[32:29] have all the

[32:34] and you were talking about

[32:35] something earlier that the

[32:38] legislator legislators passed

[32:39] that is reduced distracted

[32:39] drivers was that

[32:44] handsfree sitden's benning law

[32:45] which is the handsfree right

[32:46] that's that's what thought

[32:48] I'm just curious what your

[32:50] thoughts are on that real quick

[32:52] I still see tons of people

[32:54] holding their phones while

[32:56] they're driving. I lived in

[33:00] California for9 years and I

[33:01] think it was like a6700 dollars

[33:01] ticket if you were caught

[33:05] with anything in your hands that

[33:07] remotely look like a phone and

[33:08] so in California you did not

[33:09] pick up your phone

[33:11] nobodybody picked up their

[33:12] phone. it was just

[33:14] you knew it you got used to it

[33:16] and when I moved back here

[33:20] it it's just kind of astounding

[33:22] how many people still have their

[33:24] phones in their hands and I was

[33:25] curious if you think that the

[33:27] legislature should go further

[33:30] and allowing that to be a

[33:32] primary offense so they don't

[33:32] need to be committing a second

[33:34] infraction to be pulled

[33:34] overhould we be

[33:39] more proactive and just saying a

[33:40] police officer saw you holding

[33:42] your phone. you need to be

[33:43] pulled over and get a ticket

[33:45] Certainly that would have a

[33:46] bigger impact you know the

[33:48] impact that it currently has is

[33:49] a secondary has been

[33:52] but certainly I think we all see

[33:52] it right

[33:56] doing it so a primary

[34:02] distracted driving then a

[34:02] secondary OKok and I'm almost

[34:03] done here

[34:08] going back toannyi Muskoff and

[34:09] Caitlin

[34:12] and Jax and James Brooks and

[34:13] things like that we're coming up

[34:13] on5 years now

[34:16] the state of Missouri

[34:18] still owes

[34:23] an ny a Muskov $300,000 and I

[34:24] know this isn't all on you this

[34:26] has to do with the lawsuit and

[34:28] tort tort reform that's separate

[34:29] from Mmodo

[34:32] but I just want everybody on the

[34:34] committee to understand that

[34:35] that a modot worker was killed

[34:38] there were some problems

[34:42] many problems there and we're

[34:44] coming up on5 years and

[34:48] this family has still not been

[34:49] taken care of

[34:52] one last question and I

[34:54] appreciate you answering my

[34:55] questions

[34:58] is would you be open to

[35:00] increasing the penalty for

[35:00] speeding through work zones.

[35:02] I've done some research on

[35:04] thaturrently right now it's a250

[35:06] dollars ticket for speeding

[35:08] through a work zone which to me

[35:11] seems absurdly low and when you

[35:12] look at surrounding states and

[35:16] what the penalty is there it is2

[35:18] 345 times higher in some other

[35:19] states

[35:22] do you think that modot to

[35:22] protect their workers would like

[35:24] to see that penalty go up

[35:25] from250 dollars

[35:30] you know, I'm not sure it's the

[35:32] penalty that really matters

[35:32] certainly that

[35:37] we've also had conversations

[35:38] about photo enforcement of work

[35:40] zones that would be the most

[35:40] effective

[35:45] I had that here but I wasn't

[35:46] going to ask it yeah yeah I know

[35:48] that's a that's a controversial

[35:49] subject but a lot of states

[35:50] have done that

[35:55] for school zones and work zones

[35:56] in a lot of cases yeah but I

[35:58] think talking about cameras and

[36:00] stuff right now in the state of

[36:02] Missouri I don't know how far

[36:04] that's going to go which I think

[36:06] the second best thing would be

[36:07] to increase the penalty so

[36:09] people aren't not a little slap

[36:10] on the wrist and that and that

[36:12] we should be

[36:16] doing more to protect mo out

[36:18] workers and I think if people

[36:20] knew that the fine was higher it

[36:22] would be less apt to speed. I

[36:24] don't want to take everybody's

[36:25] time. I appreciate you answering

[36:26] my questions. Thank you Mr.

[36:27] Chair.

[36:29] p re s ent ative Mayhew

[36:32] yes Mr Chair, I have an inquiry

[36:35] or two here so thank you very

[36:36] much Mr Chair. thank you very

[36:38] much director for being here

[36:39] today and thank you for all of

[36:40] this information

[36:44] and it's much appreciated and

[36:46] very informative to

[36:51] to my friend from the Burton

[36:54] district it looks like we have a

[36:56] lot of opportunities to comment

[36:58] since it looks like our friends

[36:59] over on this side of the

[37:02] building decided that2.8 billion

[37:03] dollars in general revenue

[37:06] wasn't worth showing up for

[37:09] but let's talk about some of

[37:09] that

[37:11] if

[37:12] if you don't mind

[37:17] we besides the focus on

[37:18] bridges which I enthusiastically

[37:21] supported as you'll recall

[37:24] we additionally had2.8 billion

[37:28] in general revenue that went

[37:30] toward one single project

[37:34] of dubious distinction

[37:36] but we've had other

[37:37] contributions from general

[37:37] revenue

[37:40] and I liked your earlier comment

[37:46] and statement about how we were

[37:48] supposed to be supporting

[37:50] transportation projects in fact

[37:53] if it's not exactly specific at

[37:55] least it's my understanding that

[37:56] the way the constitution's

[37:58] written there was never any

[38:01] intent that the legislature

[38:02] would support transportation

[38:04] projects with general revenue

[38:06] and now we have over the years

[38:08] and certainly significantly in

[38:10] most recent years

[38:13] but the gas tax was supposed to

[38:17] provide all that funding I think

[38:17] it's fairly clear in the

[38:18] constitution

[38:22] the problem that we've gotten

[38:26] into is is that as you and I

[38:28] have discussed many times that

[38:29] we

[38:32] need a different way to fund

[38:34] transportation projects one that

[38:35] is as

[38:38] the constitutional amendment

[38:39] which allowed for a commission

[38:40] intended

[38:43] so that it would be

[38:44] self-supporting

[38:50] however we are here today and

[38:52] you had mentioned earlier that

[38:54] there are some challenges from a

[38:56] cost standpoint we've seen some

[38:57] significant increases in

[38:58] construction costs but

[39:04] missouri is unique in that

[39:06] increase in construction costs

[39:08] you and I had discussed many

[39:11] times in the past we had a two

[39:14] year period there where we had

[39:15] a48% increase in construction

[39:17] costs in Missouri and compared

[39:20] to even Illinois at the time who

[39:21] was sitting about 16% if I

[39:21] remember correctly

[39:26] and we you attributed that to

[39:29] simply logistics supply chain

[39:29] etc.

[39:33] and which I'm still a bit

[39:35] confused of why Oklahoma or

[39:38] Illinois had somehow was able to

[39:39] manage that and we did not

[39:40] but

[39:43] knowing that you were completely

[39:46] honest with me on what you felt

[39:47] like was the cause there

[39:49] but don't you think

[39:52] that dumping as much money

[39:56] into the into heavy construction

[39:59] generally through the arpa funds

[40:01] and through this

[40:03] considerable amount of money

[40:05] that was spent on I-70

[40:07] contributed to that increase in

[40:08] construction costs in Missouri

[40:10] don't think there's any doubt

[40:12] about it right? You put you put

[40:12] more sup

[40:16] some of that

[40:18] now if you look at the

[40:22] inflation over the last five

[40:24] years we're right on par with

[40:26] our neighbors when we have come

[40:29] a little bit closer to our

[40:29] neighbors somewhat

[40:32] but

[40:34] we can see this reaching down at

[40:36] the county level we're seeing

[40:37] offy bridges double

[40:43] in bid price which admittedly

[40:44] diesel fuel has gone up that's a

[40:46] significant component laborbor

[40:48] costs have gone up but they

[40:48] haven't gone up 100%

[40:54] and so you know we there's

[40:56] really only one difference in

[40:58] what happens now and what

[41:00] happened then is that we have

[41:04] spent a lot of money at one time

[41:05] on transportation

[41:07] related issues not just

[41:08] transportation, heavy

[41:10] construction in general and

[41:12] there's a limited ability of the

[41:14] contractors that we have now in

[41:16] order to do that work wouldn't

[41:17] you agree

[41:19] you know our industry has done a

[41:20] really good job of of

[41:22] taking on that

[41:26] spike. I mean if you look at if

[41:27] you look at I-70

[41:30] we're getting prices that are

[41:32] amazing now you may and I think

[41:34] we've talked about it is does

[41:35] that put pressure on other

[41:36] projects really when we look at

[41:37] it it hasn't

[41:42] you know certainly bridges have

[41:43] gone up for us

[41:47] when I look at that bridge

[41:48] prices have doubled in 12 years

[41:52] so if you do the average of in

[41:57] that's about the inflation rate

[41:58] of of what the rest of the world

[41:59] is going

[42:00] that's

[42:02] that's an issue

[42:06] but it's not going to go away

[42:06] it's not going to get better

[42:07] Well

[42:10] it will when we run out of money

[42:13] I mean we'll see prices

[42:14] moderate. My point on all of

[42:15] that is is that

[42:18] I mean from an engineering

[42:20] perspective you and I are both

[42:21] engineers

[42:22] wouldn't it have been a more

[42:23] prudent

[42:26] to stretch these dollars out

[42:27] over a longer period of time

[42:30] and and then

[42:34] result in lower inflationary

[42:35] pressure

[42:40] that's not what happened we know

[42:40] we know that's not what happened

[42:44] a lot of the one time money was

[42:45] directed

[42:48] normal program money

[42:52] is kind of consistent and we try

[42:52] to keep it that way

[42:58] exact same thing there's no

[43:00] there's no anomaly here in

[43:02] Missouri. Well I mean at least

[43:06] in our neighborhood I don't see

[43:08] any adjacent state three lane

[43:10] and I70 for instance in each

[43:12] direction I don't see other

[43:14] states contributing2.8 billion

[43:16] dollars to general revenue

[43:19] toward a single project which

[43:22] has limited effects statewide so

[43:23] I think there's some significant

[43:24] differences between let's say a

[43:26] Kansas and a Missouri with

[43:30] regard to that and and

[43:32] admittedly a lot of the

[43:33] contractors who would be

[43:36] interested in the size of the

[43:38] projects are working in other

[43:40] areas and limits our pool of

[43:42] people who would be available to

[43:44] bid on these projects in the

[43:44] first place

[43:46] but you know for instance you

[43:48] and I discussed this that you

[43:50] know2.8 billion dollars would

[43:52] have completely eliminated ier

[43:54] one completely iminated tier two

[43:56] and most of tier 3 of the high

[43:57] priority and funded need

[43:59] which were a lot of those were

[44:00] projects that have been sitting

[44:02] around for a long time safety

[44:04] most of them safety relateder

[44:07] throughout the entire state but

[44:10] as you astutely pointed out is

[44:12] well too late now closing the

[44:14] gate after the cow's out of the

[44:16] barn doesn't do us much good but

[44:18] where where I would be at on

[44:22] this is that we were assured

[44:24] from many conversations that2.8

[44:26] billion dollars would be

[44:27] more than enough

[44:30] to accomplish this project of

[44:32] three lanning entirely across

[44:34] the state from border to border

[44:38] and yet if I do the math on what

[44:39] we've got sitting here in front

[44:40] of us we're way over 3.1

[44:43] billion dollars

[44:48] and so the question mark and I

[44:48] already know the answer to this

[44:50] question because you clearly

[44:51] laid it out here

[44:52] is is that

[44:56] what were you talking about at

[44:57] that time when you said it

[44:58] was2.8 and no more

[45:04] well the two the .8 billion was

[45:06] to add a third lane to I-70

[45:08] across the state we're going to

[45:12] do way more than that for2.8

[45:15] every every project so far has

[45:17] not only added a third lane but

[45:18] it's it's entirely re

[45:24] not only are we going to get a

[45:25] third

[45:29] systems

[45:30] that's going to

[45:34] and there were a lot of

[45:40] prioritized that did far more

[45:41] than

[45:44] lane so the conversation was

[45:50] lane across the state and we

[45:52] have gotten like extremely huge

[45:54] value by the process we've used

[45:55] by our industry

[45:59] I can tell you that that project

[46:04] the value on that bar none

[46:04] is

[46:09] and that additional money to get

[46:10] to it's 3.3 bill

[46:14] has gotten

[46:18] some of those have been driven

[46:19] by economic

[46:28] see probably some

[46:38] Quite frankly some of the

[46:43] is going to be that good

[46:47] well yeah I mean for what we're

[46:48] paying we better have a high

[46:50] quality project you know over20

[46:53] million dollars a mile is pretty

[46:54] expensive when you already own

[46:55] the real estate and all the

[46:58] grading is done so that's a

[47:00] that's a significant increase in

[47:02] construction costs and and yeah

[47:04] I would say that we're getting

[47:06] pretty good value for our buck

[47:08] whenever we compare that to a50%

[47:12] increase in construction costs a

[47:13] few years back

[47:13] so

[47:16] but that still means that we had

[47:18] a50% increase in construction

[47:20] costs during that period that

[47:22] others did not experience

[47:24] so a lot of it

[47:28] if Ireread everything correctly

[47:30] is federal dollars that were

[47:32] used to do improvements but

[47:34] whenever you say that was for

[47:36] the three lanning the2.8 billion

[47:40] your statement and maybe you

[47:42] weren't clear enough was that

[47:45] and and your predecessor was

[47:46] that2.8 billion would be

[47:50] sufficient to do that work you

[47:51] didn't say that oh yeah and by

[47:52] the way we're going to do these

[47:54] other projects how, except for

[47:55] one that you

[47:57] did mention and I appreciated it

[48:00] and that was the 185 million a

[48:02] lot of it was an8020 match for

[48:05] the flyover in Colombia and you

[48:08] had included that as part of

[48:09] this new three lanning project

[48:10] on the first section

[48:14] and so and in which case that

[48:18] one also you had made a

[48:18] commitment at the time that that

[48:19] would be done in 3 years

[48:23] and I think August was the three

[48:24] year line so I'd say you're

[48:26] probably pretty close to that

[48:28] estimate and it looks like

[48:30] you're on track for your seven

[48:32] year estimate. I'm still remains

[48:34] to be seen and and that's very

[48:37] good but but at significant cost

[48:38] in order to do that because

[48:40] those compressed timelines also

[48:42] tend to add cost to the project

[48:43] correct?

[48:48] they don't think it's happening

[48:49] here

[48:49] and we're getting

[48:52] well I would respectfully

[48:54] disagree with that because

[48:55] that's just the way the world

[48:57] works. You tell a contractor

[48:58] he's got a week to get something

[49:00] that would normally take a month

[49:01] to get done and you're going to

[49:02] get an increase in construction

[49:06] costs because it's possible and

[49:07] especially when you do a design

[49:10] build situation but the on the

[49:14] the other thing that we talked

[49:16] about on I-70 and you assured us

[49:18] that we wouldn't have a problem

[49:19] with it

[49:20] was that they had developed a

[49:22] traffic control plan that would

[49:24] result in very few delays and as

[49:28] representative from the butts

[49:30] district pointed out is it seems

[49:32] like every time I try to get to

[49:36] that exit at Kingdom City still

[49:38] to this day we're seeing

[49:40] stoppages there's I mean the

[49:42] traffic comes to a complete stop

[49:44] now it's better now because that

[49:47] westbound lane is I'd say nearly

[49:50] done I think apparently but they

[49:54] folks are telling me about I-70

[49:55] turning into a parking lot and a

[49:56] lot of location

[49:58] s along through thereon

[49:59] accidents that occur

[50:04] and and so which was a concern

[50:05] of mine but there was a concern

[50:07] of others who live and travel

[50:09] along that corridor about how

[50:12] that was going to work there's

[50:14] significant sections left to

[50:15] rebuild are we

[50:16] addressing the

[50:19] the shortcomings of some of

[50:20] these other traffic control

[50:22] plans that and try to address

[50:24] that situation I mean our

[50:25] commitment is to keep two lanes

[50:25] of traffic open

[50:28] and except for off

[50:33] Certainly the the delays are

[50:35] caused by crashes.s there's no

[50:36] doubt about that. Well, but

[50:38] you'd pointed out that crashes

[50:40] are not a significant factor

[50:43] here in a in the in a difference

[50:44] in delays from I-70 before and

[50:45] I-70 now

[50:50] was that my understanding if you

[50:51] look at the data that's what it

[50:52] would tell you is that it's not

[50:53] that much different than it was

[50:53] before but

[50:56] and and that kind of actually

[50:59] makes sense because if there's a

[51:00] delay in construction there's

[51:03] less opportunity for a crash at

[51:06] speed or distraction or whatever

[51:08] other than those rear enders

[51:10] which brings me to the other one

[51:11] related to that of a

[51:14] 01 last thing on that was

[51:17] you're talking about truck

[51:18] parking which I think is

[51:20] completely necessary but I don't

[51:21] think we ever talked about that

[51:24] in budget committee or or even

[51:25] in transportation committee

[51:26] about the truck parking and

[51:30] and you know the utilization of

[51:31] the rest areas which by the way

[51:32] we don't have rest areas anymore

[51:33] except for

[51:37] Webster County I think is a full

[51:38] rest area. I can't think of any

[51:39] other one. all the rest of them

[51:40] have been

[51:42] turned into porta potties with a

[51:43] truck parking

[51:46] we'll still have rest areas we

[51:47] have one at St. Clair. we have

[51:48] one at oh yeah that's right I'm

[51:50] sorry St Clai Conway

[51:54] we have on St Clair the one that

[51:56] has the inside pull off that

[51:58] causes all the accidents just

[51:59] dont

[52:01] which oh good is it going to go

[52:03] to outside? No, it's going to

[52:04] stay where it's at OK, so we're

[52:06] not going to see a reduction in

[52:08] accidents there but truck

[52:10] parking was a federal grant that

[52:12] we went and competed for has

[52:13] nothing to do with the right so

[52:13] you're just

[52:16] taking the opportunity to

[52:17] include that OK, we're good and

[52:18] thank you for pointing that out.

[52:22] so some of the other concerns

[52:23] that my constituents have

[52:27] revolve around the way that some

[52:28] of these improvements have been

[52:30] contracted and so for instance

[52:33] the bridges across I-44 in the

[52:34] in the ralllah area

[52:38] so we are seeing extended

[52:39] periods where the contractor's

[52:39] not working on

[52:44] a bridge they mobilize on the

[52:44] project they close down the

[52:46] lanes and then nobody shows up

[52:47] for a month

[52:51] and and it's a so while that

[52:52] might be ok at SugartreeRoad

[52:53] which is low impact

[52:56] the

[53:00] the bridge that goes over to the

[53:02] the commercial center in ralah

[53:04] has been one lane for since it

[53:08] since the contractor started

[53:10] work and I've been by there on

[53:12] wednesdays with the sun shining

[53:13] bright and not a soul in sight

[53:16] and

[53:18] understanding that there's a

[53:18] certain amount of programming

[53:20] that goes in on how you develop

[53:22] the construction timeline for

[53:23] something

[53:26] since it was the same contractor

[53:28] working on 3 maybe4 bridges at

[53:30] the same time it looked to me

[53:32] like they were spread pretty

[53:34] thin and so they were doing a

[53:36] little bit on this one this week

[53:36] and then a little bit on that

[53:37] one next week

[53:41] and so do we have somebody

[53:42] managing that construction

[53:44] schedule so that those higher

[53:47] priority projects will be

[53:48] accomplished in a reasonable

[53:49] amount of time

[53:52] we've given them a contract with

[53:53] a completion date I'm sure but

[53:54] I'll look I'm not sure the

[53:56] details of that one but we'll

[53:57] look at it guarantee you that a

[53:57] completion date

[54:00] but they had four bridges to do

[54:02] at the same time and so but they

[54:04] I'm guessing this is a guess

[54:06] that a limited number of people

[54:10] available and so where maybe you

[54:12] or I would have said something

[54:13] like well hey do this bridge

[54:15] first because of the commercial

[54:19] impact to city ofallah.t about

[54:20] it to give you a good answer so

[54:21] on the

[54:24] on I-44

[54:28] I love what you're doing here.

[54:30] there's a lot of a lot of good

[54:31] projects in here

[54:31] however

[54:35] and and maybe you can highlight

[54:38] some of the other detail on it

[54:42] right now the Arlington Hill

[54:44] climbing lane is the

[54:46] acceleration part of that lane

[54:48] is way too short. The trucks

[54:50] aren't even using the climbing

[54:50] lane. We have a climbing lane

[54:52] there but they don't use it

[54:54] because they get trapped now a

[54:56] few years backmodot had done an

[54:58] extension of that but it still

[55:02] didn't go far enough as part of

[55:02] this project for these

[55:05] improvements on I-44 is part of

[55:07] that to make those improvements

[55:09] in those climbing areas so that

[55:12] so that we get to put the trucks

[55:13] over there where they belong.

[55:16] part of it is not sure don't

[55:18] know that terminology which

[55:20] one's a little tiny that's where

[55:21] the bridge crosses a little pa

[55:23] that's Arlington but yes we are

[55:24] making improvements to climbing

[55:26] lanes as part of these projects

[55:30] so if I could interject real

[55:30] quick herere representative I

[55:32] know there's other meetings

[55:34] happening here at 11 a.m. so if

[55:35] we could try and got I got a

[55:36] couple more minutes you do and

[55:38] so

[55:39] because these are things that

[55:39] have been

[55:42] pressing for quite a little

[55:44] while and and we had these

[55:48] issues long for a long period of

[55:50] time on I-44. This wasn't

[55:52] something that created I liked

[55:54] the project where you're finally

[55:56] rebuilding that stretch from the

[56:00] sleeper exit on toward toward

[56:02] Waynesville that pavement's

[56:04] horrible shape and has been for

[56:05] several years

[56:09] but I also don't see a climbing

[56:09] lane at

[56:12] Northview Hill which is between

[56:16] a marshfield and Springfield and

[56:16] that's one of the biggest

[56:20] slowdowns on anywhere on I-44 is

[56:22] that just not highlighted here

[56:24] or we haven't considered that

[56:25] don't think that that's not in

[56:25] our plan right now

[56:27] all right

[56:31] so last thing I've got Mr

[56:32] Chair is

[56:35] the the gas tax that we passed a

[56:37] few years ago

[56:38] so

[56:41] it's not bringing in what we

[56:42] thought it was going to is it

[56:44] no I think it's

[56:49] probably about what we projected

[56:52] you know certainly we we have

[56:54] projected that gas tax revenue

[56:58] will turn flat and slightly

[57:00] decline in the out years and

[57:02] we're every time we've projected

[57:04] that we've seen a growth in

[57:07] gallons burned and really it's

[57:08] about how many gallons get

[57:09] burned right because it doesn't

[57:12] matter what the price is and so

[57:13] we have been pleasantly

[57:13] surprised

[57:16] that when we had projected

[57:18] flattening of the gas tax

[57:18] revenue

[57:20] that for the last three or four

[57:24] years we the the gallons burned

[57:26] has gone up enough that it

[57:28] continues to rise at a really

[57:30] modest pace but I think now what

[57:31] we're seeing is that

[57:36] that flattening is happening and

[57:38] so for our next five year plan

[57:40] we're projecting0.% reduction

[57:43] tax part of revenue

[57:46] Now I don't know what it's you

[57:50] know550 diesel and4 dollars gas

[57:52] is going to do to consumption I

[57:53] think if that

[57:56] we'll probably see a little

[57:58] different outcome here. Well

[57:59] that's certainly depresses

[58:02] demand so continuing on it there

[58:04] was a component of that gas tax

[58:06] where people could file for a

[58:08] rebate and that was one of the

[58:10] selling points to the

[58:12] legislature and that well you

[58:14] know it's going to be mostly

[58:14] people from out of state that's

[58:16] going to be paying this and that

[58:21] you know that person can the

[58:24] citizen can apply for a refund

[58:25] and so therefore

[58:28] it will have less impact on

[58:30] people in the state of Missouri

[58:34] so talking to the department

[58:35] of Revenue

[58:37] that is there's an enormous

[58:37] amount of fraud

[58:40] involved in it. They were

[58:43] fortunately able to catch some

[58:44] of it but there's still on the

[58:46] order of a couple of million

[58:50] dollars in claims as of2025

[58:51] and

[58:53] they've spent a significant

[58:56] amount of time dealing with

[59:00] the rebate issue to the point

[59:02] where they're spending a lot

[59:04] more money dealing with this

[59:05] particular gas tax

[59:08] than they would with anything

[59:09] else that they do for you guys

[59:12] and there's a significant amount

[59:14] of money that is spent not just

[59:16] with that but also doing the

[59:17] collections for the regular gas

[59:18] tax

[59:20] but there was a couple of things

[59:21] that came out of it that

[59:24] that was shocking to me

[59:26] the

[59:30] in2025 the average refund was

[59:32] 162 $163

[59:34] which I think that's a little

[59:36] bit high for an average citizen

[59:37] to start with but

[59:41] the largest refund was for278

[59:44] almost279,000 dollars

[59:46] so that was one

[59:52] person one group one individual

[59:54] that was making a claim

[59:57] of279,000 dollars and we assumed

[59:58] that since they are probably a

[1:00:00] large user that they do that

[1:00:01] frequently every year

[1:00:04] but and I certainly don't think

[1:00:06] that was the intent but we're

[1:00:06] obviously talking about someone

[1:00:08] who does a lot of transportation

[1:00:10] so a trucking company of some

[1:00:10] kind or another but they're all

[1:00:12] under26,000 we know that so we

[1:00:14] can imagine who that might be

[1:00:18] and so

[1:00:20] but it was told to us that those

[1:00:22] were the companies that most

[1:00:24] supported the gas tax because

[1:00:26] they wanted to see improvements

[1:00:27] in transportation

[1:00:29] Turns out that might not be true

[1:00:36] what we've seen is about a it's

[1:00:36] about a half

[1:00:42] of people asking for the grocery

[1:00:43] receipts

[1:00:46] 05 % is what the refund amount

[1:00:48] has been lastst question for you

[1:00:50] on that. I was told by an

[1:00:52] employee of the department of

[1:00:56] Transportation that early on the

[1:01:00] 11 of the largest refunders was

[1:01:00] the Department of

[1:01:01] Transportation. Is there any

[1:01:02] truth to that

[1:01:08] can you check into that for me

[1:01:12] and tell us we're not asking for

[1:01:14] refunds of the gas tax so no one

[1:01:15] no

[1:01:19] no subdepartment no one in any

[1:01:22] official capacity with modot had

[1:01:23] been getting refunds

[1:01:27] back to the department by using

[1:01:28] gas tax receipts

[1:01:34] you say that affirmatively

[1:01:34] without checking

[1:01:39] but you will check for us

[1:01:41] right thank you very much. thank

[1:01:43] you Mr. Chair. right thank

[1:01:45] youpresentative Burton. you had

[1:01:47] a quick sidebar thank you Mr.

[1:01:49] Chair. I just wanted to point

[1:01:52] out I have appreciated this

[1:01:54] committee so much and the folks

[1:01:56] that sit on it especiallyres

[1:01:58] representative from the Mayhew

[1:01:59] district and I just wanted to

[1:02:00] point this out I'm hearing

[1:02:02] things like I like your project

[1:02:04] you're on track. I appreciate

[1:02:05] that it's better now

[1:02:08] oh good, I agree with you there.

[1:02:10] I love what you're doing there.

[1:02:12] There's a lot of good projects

[1:02:14] and I think we've really come

[1:02:17] full circle and I just had to

[1:02:18] point that out. I don't know

[1:02:20] ifpresentative Mayhew is looking

[1:02:22] to join modot again. I honestly

[1:02:24] think he would be very

[1:02:25] beneficial but I just had to

[1:02:26] point that out. Thank you, Mr.

[1:02:29] Chair redirect Mr Chair proceed

[1:02:34] it would not be accurate to say

[1:02:35] that it was a

[1:02:39] a full endorsement of everything

[1:02:40] thatmodot has done in the last

[1:02:43] few years but there have been

[1:02:46] under your direction some

[1:02:47] significant improvements. I will

[1:02:48] grant the gentleman from the

[1:02:50] Burton district that and I

[1:02:52] appreciate that which has always

[1:02:54] been my goal as you well

[1:02:56] remember that all of my

[1:02:58] discussions were about what will

[1:03:00] make it better, what will save

[1:03:02] us money and I'm glad to see

[1:03:04] that we are moving in the right

[1:03:05] direction. Well, I always have

[1:03:05] issues

[1:03:08] with one thing or another I

[1:03:12] think that's my job here so but

[1:03:14] now you don't have to worry

[1:03:14] about it anymore. Someone else

[1:03:16] will take the mantle

[1:03:19] perhapspresentative Burton will

[1:03:21] take over from where I'm leaving

[1:03:23] off.

[1:03:26] thank you very much appreciate

[1:03:27] your

[1:03:28] interest in transportation

[1:03:30] that's a good thing and on that

[1:03:33] happy note I will we will

[1:03:34] conclude this hearing on the

[1:03:35] joint Committee on

[1:03:35] Transportation

[1:03:37] we are adjourned

Joint Committee on Transportation Oversight

Transcript