Calling Wednesday's meeting of the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission to order in Jefferson City, Chairman Stephen Miller, Kansas City, remarked how this meeting felt different than other meetings.
"This is a special time, a unique time because today we are defining the transportation future of our state," Miller said.
Commissioner Kenneth Suelthaus, St. Louis, described the moment as one of the more exciting moments in the state's transportation history.
"We are talking about major improvements to our state's infrastructure," Suelthaus said. "It is going to take a big effort from the public to make sure it happens."
Ed Hassinger, the transportation agency's chief engineer, presented the agency's definition of Missouri's transportation future which revolves around the proposed Constitutional Amendment 7, a ¾-cent sales tax, which would fund construction of:
• A six-lane Interstate 70;
• More than 400 bridge projects throughout the state, including five bridges over the Missouri and Mississippi rivers;
• 3,200 miles of roadway resurfacing throughout the state;
• 750 miles of new shoulders for minor roadways;
• 29 interchange improvements including one at the Whitton Expressway;
• Seven improved port authorities;
• 14 railway projects, including one at the Jefferson City Amtrak station;
• 23 airport improvements, including a new Columbia Regional Airport terminal and an extended runway at Jefferson City Memorial Airport;
• Statewide public transit improvements, including a bus route between Columbia and Jefferson City;
• 61 sidewalk and non-motorized projects throughout the state including an extension of the Greenway Trail from Dunklin Trail to McCarty Street;
According to Missouri Department of Transportation officials, if approved Aug. 5, the proposed amendment would generate an estimated $5.4 billion over its 10-year lifespan.
Miller said when he saw the magnitude of the projects he was surprised.
"If this (Amendment 7) does not happen (pass), we are going to be looking at a very different future," Miller said. "From my prospective, I do not even want to think of what that future looks like."
Hassinger promised that his presentation was just "a small flavor" of what his upcoming July 9 presentation, when the commission will finalize the prioritized project list.
According to Hassinger, the state's transportation agency has been working for several months to develop a list of fiscally constrained projects for the public to review and so far feedback was mostly positive.
"We knew it would be tough (to please everyone). We knew we would have to work hard to develop a list of real priorities for Missourians in every corner of the state," Hassinger said. He also noted the toughest decisions were still to come.
"Everyone agrees on the main projects, but we are having serious discussions about projects that are on the bubble," Hassinger said. "I look at this as it is the NCAA Selection Show, and the toughest choice is always about the last four projects in and the first four projects out."
One of the projects nearly everyone agrees on is the planned improvements to Interstate 70 in central Missouri, according to Hassinger.
"Everyone acknowledges it is time to do something about this vital artery of our state's transportation infrastructure," Hassinger said. According to Hassinger, I-70 is "Missouri's Main Street" connecting exactly one-fourth of the state's economic engine.
Hassinger did not disclose any projects he deemed to be on the bubble. Central District Engineer David Silvester said he had also heard positive things from Missourians regarding improvements to Highway 50 and U.S. 63.
"Those are two very large projects - connecting Sedalia to Linn on a four-lane highway and building a shared third lane highway on U.S. 63 toward Rolla," Silvester said. Another project that has not been getting as much attention by the public is the creation of a transit service between Jefferson City and Columbia.
"We are currently evaluating a system that would make three round trips and six stops a day in Columbia and Jefferson City," Silvester said. "This has been something that has been discussed as a need for a long time as there are many people who live in Columbia and work in Jefferson City, or live in Jefferson City and shop in Columbia."
Also in the Central Region was the construction of a new terminal at Columbia Regional Airport. According to Silvester, the project is currently deemed a cost-share project, with the state's transportation agency and Columbia splitting the cost.
Miller said he could only describe this update as "remarkable."
"To think we have got to this point, after years in the making, to be this close to July 9 is pretty terrific," Miller said.
Echoing Miller, Hassinger said the department would continue to work throughout the state to fine-tune the preliminary draft of the prioritized projects.
"We chose the words "Moving Forward' to describe this project and on Aug. 5 Missourians will chose the path of our transportation future," Hassinger said. "I am not worried from our end (at MoDOT), we have laid so much groundwork in the last few years to have done this the right way and the professional way."