There has been a lot of talk about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, especially concerning the investments in Missouri’s transportation system. While MoDOT continues to make progress that will aid Missouri’s economy and support jobs, there are some misconceptions about just how far these funds will stretch to address infrastructure needs. Furthermore, it is important to understand what MoDOT had to take into account when selecting projects.

Here are five things you can tell your neighbors about ARRA:

• The ARRA Act provides $787 billion to jumpstart the American economy and create or save millions of jobs. Of that amount, $48 billion – or only about 6 percent – will be used to address the nation’s transportation infrastructure needs.
• Of the $48 billion of transportation-related ARRA funds, Missouri will receive $788 million for transportation projects, only about 1.64 percent of the national amount. Of those funds $525 million will go to various highway and bridge projects across Missouri as determined by the MHTC. Additionally, $151 million will go to multimodal projects, $19 million will go to transportation enhancements, and $93 million will go to sub-allocation areas (Kansas City, St. Louis and Springfield).
• Missouri has $31.3 billion in transportation needs over the next 20 years. While MoDOT is grateful to receive ARRA funding, the $525 million will only help us meet 1.67 percent of those needs.
• The final list of ARRA transportation projects had to meet specific requirements set forth in the bill, including 50 percent of the funds must be obligated by June 30 and all money must be obligated by March 2, 2010. Consideration also had to be given to projects that can be completed within three years, will maximize job creation and economic benefit, and/or are located in economically distressed areas.
• The project list also had to meet the normal tangle of federal regulations, like environmental clearances, contracting requirements and air quality rules. In addition, projects had to comply with MHTC’s funding formula, which means a certain amount of money had to go to taking care of the state’s existing highway system and the rest to major projects.