Maintenance and operations is the third category of highway and bridge funding. Maintenance includes activities designed to extend the life of pavement and bridges and to ensure safety. Operations activities are designed to maximize the efficiency of the existing highway and bridge system.    Highway, bridge and roadside assets require regular maintenance to protect MoDOT's investment and extend the time before major rehabilitation is required. In recent years, MoDOT's maintenance activities have become increasingly reactive, with less time being spent on preventive or routine maintenance. Less emphasis has been placed on roadway striping, signing, traffic signal placement and other activities designed to ensure safety. The equipment fleet and capital investments are aging and require increased resources to keep them functional. MoDOT is developing a Maintenance Vision, a plan that will direct the maintenance and operational activities necessary to reverse this trend. Preventive maintenance is the planned, proactive and often cyclical, location-specific activities that are performed on the good or better components of the system. It might include activities such as pavement and bridge sealing or bridge painting. Preventive maintenance combined with an increased emphasis on rehabilitation and reconstruction will keep the state highway and bridge system in better condition for a lower life-cycle cost. A combined approach of rehabilitation and reconstruction and preventive maintenance is the most cost-effective, long-term strategy needed to maintain the system at an acceptable level.