Smoother, Safer, Sooner Tops MoDOT’s 2005 Accomplishments

JEFFERSON CITY - Making Missouri roads smoother and safer as soon as possible was the top story for the Missouri Department of Transportation in 2005.

“We worked hard to use the additional resources from Amendment 3 to quickly improve our roads,” said Pete Rahn. “That additional work, combined with maintenance and construction jobs we already had planned, has led to the largest five-year construction program in MoDOT history. All of these improvements are providing progress Missourians really can feel, and we’re proud of the positive strides we made this past year.”

MoDOT’s Smoother, Safer, Sooner initiative, funded by proceeds from Amendment 3, will deliver 2,200 miles of smooth road by December 2007, speed existing work and build new, major projects.

Rounding out MoDOT’s major accomplishments for the year were:

• Federal highway bill. Thanks to the coordinated efforts of Missouri’s congressional delegation, the state will receive additional federal funding for critical projects.
  
  
• Five-year construction program. Missouri will experience the largest construction program ever over the next five years - 866 projects totaling $7.3 billion.
  
  
• Internet work zone map. To help motorists cope with all the work, MoDOT created an informative, easy-to-understand work zone map that motorists can access at www.modot.org <http://www.modot.org>.
  
  
• Brighter, more visible pavement marking. The department began using brighter, wider stripes on new pavement to make the roads safer and more visible, especially at night and in rain.
  
  
• Practical Design. This new concept for highway design, which customizes projects to fit specific needs rather than using generic standards across the board, will save nearly $400 million over the next five years.
  
  
• Cell phone technology. MoDOT entered an agreement this month to use cell phone signals to monitor traffic flow. When MoDOT begins receiving data in February, Missouri will become the nation’s leading provider of real-time traffic information on the state’s 5,500 busiest miles of roads.
  
  
• Project planning. MoDOT laid open its planning process by holding two public meetings to prioritize the new construction projects funded by Amendment 3. The agency also launched a public initiative to develop a statewide, long-range transportation plan.
  
  
• Tracker. The Government Review Commission cited MoDOT’s Tracker system - which tracks the department’s progress and measures how well it’s meeting customer expectations - as a model other government agencies should use.
  
  
• Design-build. The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission approved two design-build projects: reconstructing Interstate 64 in St. Louis and improving the Interstate 29/Interstate 35 corridor in Kansas City, including a new Missouri River bridge. Design-build is a project delivery method that combines both the design and construction phases to save time and resources.
  
  

Editor’s note: Recorded comments on this topic from Chief Engineer Kevin Keith are available by calling MoDOT’s sound bite service at 1-866-847-7173 or visiting www.modot.gov/newsroom.