MoDOT announces comment period for priority lists

SIKESTON – The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) today announced the public comment period for the list of regional and community transportation projects that will accompany the transportation measure on the August ballot. The official public comment period will begin at noon, June 13 and will close at 5 p.m., June 20.

The public is invited to attend the meetings at any time from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. to speak to regional planning partners and MoDOT representatives. No formal presentations will be made. The public meetings are scheduled as follows:

• Thursday, June 12 – Cape Girardeau Osage Community Center, 1625 North Kingshighway.
• Tuesday, June 17 – Poplar Bluff Chamber of Commerce, 111W. Pine Street.
• Thursday, June 19 – Farmington Regional Chamber of Commerce, 302 N. Washington.

This August, Missouri voters will be asked to decide on a ballot measure (Amendment 7) to temporarily raise the sales tax by ¾ of a cent with all proceeds going toward needed transportation improvements statewide. The public will have an opportunity to weigh in on their regional and community project lists through a series of forums this June. A final schedule of open house meetings and a project website where Missourians can provide feedback will be announced in the coming days.

“The development of these regional and community priority lists is a culmination of significant outreach and feedback from Missourians all across the state,” said Dave Nichols, Director of the Missouri Department of Transportation. “Through our annual Statewide Transportation Improvement Program, the Blue Ribbon Citizen’s Committee on Missouri’s Transportation Needs and last year’s On the Move long range planning effort, we have been listening to Missourians wants and needs for several years. The regional priority lists are truly a reflection of the feedback that has been received during that timeframe.”

“We worked diligently to look at the public input MoDOT has received over the last several years, as well as what the region’s planning partners have heard from their local residents. In developing a project list, it was important for us to look at major roads, such as Route 25, and multimodal projects like upgrades at the New Bourbon Port. Missourians want to see projects that improve safety and help create jobs, and we hope they find that in the draft project list,” said Chauncy Buchheit of the SEMO Regional Planning Commission.

Missourians will now be asked to provide final public comment on the regional priorities. MoDOT engineers and members of the local transportation planning commission will be available to solicit feedback on the potential projects and answer any questions members of the public may have about the projects. The final list of regional priorities and the public comments received will be submitted to the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission (MHTC) for approval on Wednesday, June 25.