Ever wonder what happens when federal funds aren’t spent fast enough? MoDOT is pulling $20 million from St. Louis area road projects, reallocating it to state initiatives. Local governments faced delays, but what does this mean for our roads and future funding in Missouri?
The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) has initiated a significant policy shift, reallocating approximately $20 million in federal road funds from St. Louis-area local governments to state-sponsored projects. This decisive action underscores MoDOT’s commitment to accelerating the expenditure of federal transportation dollars and ensuring the timely completion of critical infrastructure initiatives across the region.
For several years, MoDOT has consistently warned local municipalities and counties about the consequences of underutilizing federal funds, emphasizing the imperative to obligate these allocations within their respective federal fiscal years. The state’s proactive stance aims to prevent a backlog of unspent money, which could potentially jeopardize Missouri’s eligibility for future federal grants and reduce the overall federal dollars flowing into the state, particularly in the wake of the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill.
While the East-West Gateway Council of Governments, the regional transportation planning organization, successfully guided St. Louis-area governments to exceed MoDOT’s targets last year—obligating over 110% of the region’s roughly $90 million in annual federal funding—the current fiscal year has presented a significant setback. Projections indicate only about three-quarters of the region’s federal dollars will be obligated for local road projects, directly leading to MoDOT’s decision to pull back the $20 million.
Tom Blair, MoDOT’s St. Louis District engineer, firmly stated the department’s position, emphasizing the expectation for federal funds to be spent within the correct federal fiscal year. This uncompromising approach is part of MoDOT’s broader strategy to enhance Missouri’s federal funding capacity, ensuring that vital transportation policy objectives are met without undue delays at the local level.
The delays experienced by local governments are multifaceted, often stemming from challenges exacerbated by the pandemic. These include difficulties in securing necessary rights-of-way through court processes, coupled with widespread inflation and labor shortages that have significantly impacted project budgets and timelines. Consequently, numerous infrastructure projects across the St. Louis region, particularly in larger jurisdictions, have fallen behind schedule.
Crucially, the $20 million in reallocated federal funding will remain within the St. Louis region, albeit redirected to MoDOT-overseen projects. Following a resolution from East-West Gateway urging MoDOT to keep the funds local, the state responded with a list of four specific regional projects slated to receive these dollars, including new signage on major interstates, crucial bridge work, and essential pavement resurfacing efforts.
Marcie Meystrik, East-West Gateway’s director of transportation planning, clarified that local road projects initially slated for these funds are not necessarily being scrapped. Instead, these projects must complete their preliminary stages, such as right-of-way acquisitions and engineering designs, before the federal government will release the money and it is officially “obligated.” This sequential process impacts how future funding cycles will be managed.
The long-term implication for the St. Louis area is a potential reduction in funds available for new local projects in upcoming programming cycles, as East-West Gateway will need to account for the reallocated $20 million. This financial adjustment may compel East-West Gateway to revise its own policies for allocating transportation dollars, intensifying pressure on local governments to expedite project readiness and maximize their federal grants moving forward.
