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Governor Blunt Thanks MODOT for Efforts to Improve Road Safety
Friday, June 29, 2007
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 Governor Blunt campaigned on a promise to improve the quality of transportation Missouri, starting with our roads and bridges. Smoother roads mean safer roads, and Governor Blunt has worked closely with the Missouri Department of Transportation on important construction projects, challenging them to complete the projects one full year ahead of schedule. They did so, and it is estimated that 14 fatalities were prevented, 589 injuries avoided, and $2.2 million in maintenance costs saved as a result.
Others have noticed the improvements across Missouri's roads and highways. According to the Reason Foundation, a non-profit public policy research firm that conducts an annual national road condition report, Missouri's pavement conditions have risen from 38th in 2000 to 17th today.
"Increasing the safety for travelers on Missouri roads is one of my top priorities. Improving road conditions in our state has saved lives and reduced injuries, and I thank the Department of Transportation for meeting my challenge to complete significant improvements to our state highways one year early," Gov. Blunt said. "The Reason Foundation's report on Missouri's dramatic improvement in road conditions just affirms what Missourians are experiencing every day as they drive on Missouri roads - we are delivering real improvements to transportation in our state."
Read the St. Louis Post-Dispatch article about the Reason Foundation's report below:
Missouri road conditions 'sharply improved'
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
June 28, 2007
Missouri's highways are moving up the national ranks after years near the bottom, according to a report being released today.
The report from the Reason Foundation, a non-profit policy group based in Los Angeles, says Missouri "sharply improved" its pavement conditions from 2000 to 2005, at a time when highway officials were starting a construction blitz that repaired 2,200 miles of highway.
In 2000, the state's highways ranked 38th. Today's report puts the state at 17th.
Missouri has plans to fix or replace 800 bridges by 2012. The work, expected to cost $600 million, has been slowed by legal and financial snags. The department hopes to award the contract in October, spokesman Jeff Briggs said.
Read the entire article here. |
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