By Andy Tuerck, MoDOT's St. Charles County Area Engineer
“Individual commitment to a group effort -- that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.” At least that’s what legendary coach Vince Lombardi said and that is so true when it comes to building roads and bridges in Missouri. Sometimes MoDOT can’t do it alone so we partner with local cities and counties to get projects done.
“Individual commitment to a group effort -- that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.” At least that’s what legendary coach Vince Lombardi said and that is so true when it comes to building roads and bridges in Missouri. Sometimes MoDOT can’t do it alone so we partner with local cities and counties to get projects done.
Partnering can be done in several ways and thanks in part to
St. Charles County’s ½ cent transportation sales tax; it’s something very
common in St. Charles County.
One of the ways we partner together is through the statewide
cost-share program. The program is
specifically designed to build partnerships by pooling resources to deliver
state highway and bridge projects. MoDOT
allocates a specific amount of funding for cost-share
projects across the state and local governments apply for that funding. The new interchange being built at Route
61 and Route P/Peine Road is a cost-share project with the $15 million project
being paid for by MoDOT, St. Charles County and the city of Wentzville. The I-70 Traffic Flow Improvement project that
just started in O’Fallon is another cost-share project with the cost being
shared by MoDOT and the city of O’Fallon.
Cost participation projects are similar to cost-share projects
except that MoDOT’s share of the funding comes from money already allocated to
the local district. The I-70 and Fifth
Street project came about when the county came up with a plan to make
improvements at Fifth Street. MoDOT
contributed $1 million in funds for the rebuilding of the Fairgrounds Road
overpass so improvements could be made at both interchanges. Another example of a cost participation
project is the upcoming project to build ramps at Gutermuth and Route 364.
MoDOT is also partnering with St. Charles County on the upcoming Route
N study. The study will look at what
improvements could be made between Interstate 64 and David Hoekel Parkway to
improve safety, congestion and traffic flow.
Making improvements to Route N is a priority for St. Charles County, but
due to funding constraints MoDOT has not been able to prioritize the route to
keep up with the explosive growth of the county. Since Route N is a state maintained road,
MoDOT agreed to conduct the study if the county would pay for it.
These different partnerships are important to MoDOT not only
because of the improvements to state owned roads, but also the opportunity to
maintain relationships with local governments.
Those relationships are vital to the future of the state’s
transportation system and help the local community by improving the
transportation system as a whole.
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| Projects funded through partnering - (upper left) I-70 and Fifth Street; Route 364 Page Phase 3, (upper right)Route 364/Page Phase 3 and (bottom) Route 61 at Route P/Peine Road. |
