ST. JOSEPH – Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe today visited several of the bridges included in the list of 250 scheduled for immediate repair or replacement if Gov. Mike Parson’s proposed funding program is passed this year by the Missouri General Assembly. The governor first outlined the statewide bridge infrastructure program in his State of the State address in January.
Kehoe visited the following bridges in Audrain, Macon and Livingston counties:
- Audrain County Route J over Lick Creek
- Macon County Route D over BNSF Railroad
- Livingston County U.S. Route 65 over Grand River
“The governor’s plan will help address critical infrastructure needs and will accelerate more than $1 billion worth of local projects with no new tax dollars,” Lt. Gov. Kehoe said.
Missouri has 922 bridges in poor condition and the governor’s “Focus on Bridges” proposal would accelerate the repair or replacement of 250 of those bridges, in turn freeing up funding for additional transportation projects across the state.
The proposal would enable the Missouri Department of Transportation and the Office of Administration to enter a financing agreement to fund 250 bridge projects – bridges that are already programmed for repair or replacement in the state’s current five-year construction program. The proposal is set up to supplement existing transportation revenue with general revenue to pay off the debt. The resolution also calls for the bond proceeds to be deposited into the State Road Fund – meaning the funds will be constitutionally protected and regularly audited to ensure they are only used for state road and bridge projects.
Missouri has 10,385 bridges on the state highway system – sixth most in the nation. Of that total, 922 are in poor condition, 1,194 are weight restricted, and 450 fall into both categories.
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