Editorial: Vote Yes on Prop D for Missouri Roads
Date Posted: October 22, 2018
Posted In: Discussion, Regionalism,
From St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Early this year, the 21st Century Missouri Transportation System Task Force, made up of state legislators and other elected officials of both parties and private-sector representatives, issued a report that should send chills down the spine of anyone who drives our state’s roadways.
It meticulously documented how decades of underfunding have left Missouri with an inadequate, inefficient and potentially dangerous transportation network. Neglect of our state’s roadways is holding back the economy while endangering driver safety because of the deteriorating condition of roads and bridges. The report recommended, among other proposals, increasing the state’s current 17 cent-per-gallon gas tax — which hasn’t risen in more than 20 years — by 10 cents, to make up for those years of stagnation and get Missouri’s transportation system back on track.
Missouri voters on Nov. 6 will have the opportunity to put that recommendation into law. Proposition D, if approved, will raise the state gas tax by 2.5 cents per gallon per year for four years, for a total hike of 10 cents by July 2022. Voters should approve it.
Missouri’s interstates were built in the mid-1950s with a 20-year life expectancy; Interstate 70 in particular is badly in need of reconstruction and expansion. Almost 900 of the state’s roughly 10,400 bridges are rated in poor condition. The report notes that the American Society of Civil Engineers has given the state an overall infrastructure grade of C minus.