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Covering state lawmakers, bills, and policy emerging from Jefferson City.

Transportation task force to begin looking for ways to fix and pay for roads & bridges

A photo of the Boone Bridge taken from the St. Charles County side of the Missouri River.
Missouri Department of Transportation St. Charles County camera
A photo of the Boone Bridge taken from the St. Charles County side of the Missouri River.

Crumbling roads and old bridges have long been something lawmakers say they should work on.

Now, a task force created to study Missouri's transportation system will begin holding public meetings this week.

The task force's mission is to come up with ideas to repair the state's network of roads and bridges and figure out how to pay for it. It won't be easy, as the Republican majority in the legislature has balked at any solution that includes allowing toll roads or raising the state's 17.3 cents per gallon fuel tax, one of the lowest in the nation.

The task force is chaired by Rep. Kevin Corlew, R-Kansas City. He cautions against expecting any speedy solutions.

"I think that it's important that we go into this with open eyes and all options on the table, and be able to have the task force do its work and (to) let them do so," he said.

Corlew sponsored a bill during the regular session that would have allowed for turning Interstate 70 into a toll road across Missouri,. That proposal went nowhere. This time, he said, he won't push any specific item while chairing the task force.

"My role is not to come in on Day One and say, 'We're going to do this option and no other,'" he said. "The reason we have a task force is because we  haven't been able to find a consensus."

Senator Bill Eigel of Weldon Springs is also on the task force, and is one of several Republicans who strongly opposes raising the fuel tax or creating toll roads. He said during the latest Politically Speaking podcast that there's more than enough existing revenue for the state's transportation needs.

"We have a budget that's bigger than it’s ever been before, (nearly) $28 billion dollars," he said. "The idea that we should go back to the taxpayers – either for more tax revenue or for toll roads, which is basically a different form of a consumption tax – is in my mind ridiculous."

Eigel continued, "the people of Missouri have already made their investment and their sacrifice, and sent a record amount of money to Jefferson City. If we can take just three percent of what their sending to us out of our general revenue fund and dedicate it (to transportation), then we could make this happen and there will be no need for toll roads, no need for additional taxes, just better roads for Missouri."

In all, the task force is made up of 10 lawmakers, Gov. Eric Greitens, MoDOT Director Patrick McKenna, Highway Patrol Superintendent Sandra Karsten, Florissant Mayor Thomas Schneider, transportation commission member Michael Pace, and six members from the private sector. The first meeting is Wednesday, June 28, at the State Capitol. Other meetings are planned in St. Louis, Kansas City, Kirksville, Cape Girardeau, Columbia, and Springfield.

Follow Marshall Griffin on Twitter: @MarshallGReport

Copyright 2017 St. Louis Public Radio

St. Louis Public Radio State House Reporter Marshall Griffin is a native of Mississippi and proud alumnus of Ole Miss (welcome to the SEC, Mizzou!). He has been in radio for over 20 years, starting out as a deejay. His big break in news came when the first President Bush ordered the invasion of Panama in 1989. Marshall was working the graveyard shift at a rock station, and began ripping news bulletins off an old AP teletype and reading updates between songs. From there on, his radio career turned toward news reporting and anchoring. In 1999, he became the capital bureau chief for Florida's Radio Networks, and in 2003 he became News Director at WFSU-FM/Florida Public Radio. During his time in Tallahassee he covered seven legislative sessions, Governor Jeb Bush's administration, four hurricanes, the Terri Schiavo saga, and the 2000 presidential recount. Before coming to Missouri, he enjoyed a brief stint in the Blue Ridge Mountains, reporting and anchoring for WWNC-AM in Asheville, North Carolina. Marshall lives in Jefferson City with his wife, Julie, their dogs, Max and Liberty Belle, and their cat, Honey.