Public meeting set to discuss Missouri I-70, tolls
By Keith Goble, Land Line state legislative editor Transportation officials in Missouri are discussing long-term plans to pay for improvements to Interstate 70. The public will soon get an opportunity to comment on funding options, including toll taxes. OOIDA officials say truckers already pay taxes and other user fees to access freeways. As a result, charging tolls on existing roads would amount to an additional tax. “Tolls are taxes, and paying both tolls and fuel taxes amounts to double taxation,” Association leadership states in its list of highway funding principles. “OOIDA adamantly opposes the sale or lease of existing roads and efforts to convert non-tolled roads into toll facilities.” The Joint Committee on Transportation Oversight is scheduled to meet in mid January to talk about the interstate. Officials at the Missouri Department of Transportation say the roadway stretching from Kansas City to St. Louis is worn out and is struggling to handle the capacity of cars and trucks. MODOT estimates the cost to rebuild I-70 would range from about $1.5 billion to $4 billion. Multiple funding options have been offered in recent years at the statehouse to benefit I-70. They include increasing the state’s 17-cent-per-gallon fuel tax, which is among the lowest in the nation, and raising the state’s sales tax and applying it to roads. An alternative funding method that is getting a lot of consideration in the weeks leading up to the start of the regular session is privatizing the 250-mile stretch between the two metropolitan areas. MODOT officials are looking to partner with the private sector to rebuild the roadway. To get the ball rolling, transportation director Kevin Keith announced that his agency will call on state lawmakers to authorize tolls. He cited few, if any options, available for much-needed improvements to be made. Sen. Bill Stouffer, chairman of the transportation panel, said it is time for discussion on the toll issue. “We have to make some decisions. We need to have a discussion and see what the reaction is when we open up the subject,” Stouffer said in prepared remarks. A public hearing to talk about I-70 is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 17, at 1 p.m. in House Hearing Room 3 of the state capitol. Anyone unable to attend can still submit comments viaemail. OOIDA encourages Missouri truckers to submit comments. Editor’s Note: Please share your thoughts with us about the story topic. Comments may be sent to mailto:statelegislativedesk@ooida.com. Copyright © OOIDA
