New four-lane portion of U.S. 50 opens west of Jefferson City

" Yeah, lots of construction going on all over the state and not a whole lot for badly needed highways in Central-MO near the Captial. Still no interstate access for our state capital.
US 50 has needed 4-lane status for years. Everyone agrees that I-70 is way past due, but no effort to finish 50 from Sedalia to Union to help relieve traffic on I-70. US 63 is a very heavily travled highway of death between Jeff City and Rolla. The Trilevel and 54 "S" curve continue to kill and maim, with no work planned to redo these pieces of work. What-do-we-get-for-our-money?

Meanwhile, the continual carnage and death just keeps on occuring on all these mid-Mo roads, and we more for gasoline than anyone else. "

" Boscoe - Not sure what's happening in Joplin, but only real changes in Spfld are the 65/I-44 interchange and new James River Expressway. Both were outdated, antiquated and dangerous. Branson I'm sure is quite expensive, but something had to be done. Have you ever tried to get down 76, at any time of day, any time of year?
Yes there is construction in those areas, but it's much needed and pretty sparse whereas KC and St. Louis have had ongoing construction for years on end.n It could certainly have changed since I read that article a few years ago, but I'd be surprised.
Maybe web will be nice enough to post the actual numbers when he finds them. "

" I thought most of the money was being spent in Joplin, Springfield, and Branson.

Have you seen those super highways going around the mountains down at Branson? Must be the highest cost-per-mile roads built in Missouri! "

" Only with the redirection of funds via that proposition awhile back did MoDOT even begin work on much needed projects in Central MO like Highway 50, the 54 work around Osage Beach, 50/63 in JC, etc. Even then, the 50 project to and past California was handled by MoDOT on the cheap.
On the other hand, there has been on-going construction for years in St.L and KC on many different highways/roads. "

" melbrooks .... I don't have a "source" as I'm not a newspaper reporter. I read an article awhile back that indicated the majority of road construction funds were spent in the 2 major metropolitan areas. Don't remember how long ago that's been or what publication it was in. I'm sure you can find some facts and figures on the internet if you're that interested.
Do you really believe that the majority of the $$ is spent anywhere else? The Highway 50 project is the ONLY major Central MO project I can even remember in the last several years. "

" ODF, would you cite your source for figures for your assertion that the majority of all taxes were spent in KC and STL? Just curious what the actual figures are. "

" Jigger...you are only party correct, because we WERE paying taxes all along. Problem was, the majority of ALL taxes were being spent in 2 cities...St. L and KC. On top of that, years of mismanagement, lack of accountability and wasting of tax dollars by MoDOT.

To blame the long time for completion on soley the taxpayers lack of interest in paying for it is wrong. "

" That's because it takes alot of money that people aren't willing to pay for in taxes. And it wasn't a top priority. "

" They've talked about bypassing the towns between Jefferson City & Sedalia since the 60's. Only took them 40+ years to get it done. "