Building Bridges For the Future
Missouri is blessed with a stunning landscape of hills, valleys, streams and rivers. Missourians especially love our waterways, and few areas of the state can rival the resources found in the 16th Senatorial District. Camden, Pulaski, Phelps, Dent and Crawford counties are home to some of the finest boating, floating and fishing waters in Missouri.
The Niangua, Bourbeuse, Big Piney, Meramec, Osage, Gasconade and Current rivers, as well as the Little Piney, Roubidoux, Huzzah and Courtois creeks all pass within the boundaries of the district. The Lake of the Ozarks attracts millions of visitors every year.
We would never be able to enjoy these wonderful streams and rivers if we didn’t have good roads and dependable bridges to cross them. Increasingly, though, our bridges are failing.
There are 10,385 bridges in Missouri’s state highway system. Only five states in the nation have more bridges. Nearly 1,200 of Missouri’s bridges have posted weight restrictions. More than 900 are rated in “poor” condition. We desperately need to repair and replace bridges. The challenge is how to pay for the work.
In November, voters soundly defeated a proposal to increase the state’s fuel tax, rejecting the most obvious source of funding for MoDOT projects. In an effort to stretch Missouri’s existing road fund, the governor has proposed $351 million in bonds to pay for 250 bridge projects.
Borrowing money to accelerate these 250 projects frees up funds from the motor fuels tax so that MoDOT can continue work on other parts of the state’s five-year road improvement plan. Money from the bonds will be directly deposited into the road account, where the funds will be constitutionally protected and audited, making sure they can only be used for roads and bridges.
This past week, I had the honor of accompanying the governor as he visited the Route B Bridge over Clear Creek in Phelps County, one of the 250 spans scheduled for improvement. We saw firsthand the crumbling concrete, exposed rebar and other structural deficiencies that are all too common with Missouri’s bridges.
Repairs to the Phelps County Route B Bridge, slated for 2022, are expected to cost just over $1 million. Six other bridges within the 16th Senatorial District are also included in the governor’s “Focus on Bridges” plan.
Bridges scheduled for projects in 2020 include the replacement of the Route D Bridge over Minnow Brook Creek in Camden County and repairs to two Crawford County structures: the Route CC Bridge over Brush Creek and the Highway 49 Bridge across Dry Fork Creek. Two area bridges will be repaired in 2021: a half-mile long span of U.S. Highway 54 over the Lake of the Ozarks and the Route FF Bridge over Normal Creek in Dent County. In 2022, the Route U Bridge over Interstate 44 in Phelps County will be repaired, in addition to work on the bridge near St. James the governor visited this week.
The total cost of the seven projects in the 16th Senatorial District is more than $7.7 million. This investment in our bridges will bring a shot to the economic arm of the district. Just as importantly, the projects will enhance the experience of visiting our area for travelers and increase the likelihood that tourists will choose to vacation here. But, more than anything else, maintaining our vital infrastructure improves the safety of everyone in the district.
All of us who live in the Ozarks know the trepidation that sometimes comes when crossing aged and deteriorating bridges. We shudder to think of the school buses loaded with our precious children crossing those spans on a daily basis. We, as well as anyone in the state of Missouri, understand the importance of maintaining good bridges.
I’m excited about the governor’s “Focus on Bridges” project. The Senate is currently moving legislation that enables the bond funding, and I have full confidence it will pass. I look forward to seeing work begin on our critical infrastructure and anticipate reaping the rewards of this investment for years to come.
It’s my honor to serve as your senator for the 16th District. If you have questions or need any assistance, please call my office at 573-751-5713 or log onto my webpage at https://www.senate.mo.gov/brown for more information.