Missouri is Riding Smoother!
An article in today’s St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Missouri roads have improved sharply:
The report from the Reason Foundation, a non-profit policy group based
in Los Angeles, says Missouri "sharply improved" its pavement
conditions from 2000 to 2005, at a time when highway officials were
starting a construction blitz that repaired 2,200 miles of highway.
In 2000, the state’s highways ranked 38th. Today’s report puts the state at 17th.
The vast improvement in Missouri roads can be attributed to the shift in focus by MoDOT to maintenance of current roads during the past six years. There are still problems, though, with Missouri bridges, where Missouri ranks near the bottom. That should change once the contract is approved to rebuild over 800 bridges in Missouri. Another problem of note that because of the shift away from new projects, there is a list of projects that needs to be completed:
As a result, some projects have languished for years, such as building
a new Mississippi River bridge, extending Maryland Heights Expressway
and expanding the Page Avenue extension farther into St. Charles
County.
Overall, it is a great sign that Missouri is wisely investing in keeping its roads up to date and safe for its residents.
