JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri statehouse hopefuls on Friday gave Department of Transportation officials an earful concerning the agency's credibility problem with voters.

However, MoDOT director Henry Hungerbeeler defended the department's recent record of delivering promised projects and said its poor image is partly a product of faulty public perception.

"We have been trying to get this message out, but, frankly, some people don't want to hear it," Hungerbeeler said.

Hungerbeeler invited all candidates running for the legislature as well as incumbent legislators to the forum to discuss transportation issues. Although hundreds were invited, only about 30 attended.

The discussion centered on public mistrust of the department stemming from the 1998 decision of its governing board, the State Highways and Transportation Commission, to drop a 1992 plan as the financial blueprint for highway construction. MoDOT's alleged lack of credibility was cited as a factor in voters' nearly 3-to-1 rejection of a transportation tax increase last month.

Commissioner Barry Orscheln of Moberly, Mo., said the public belief that MoDOT "abandoned" the 1992 plan -- a belief perpetuated by many lawmakers -- isn't true. While the plan was underfunded, Orscheln said the department remains committed to the plan's projects, though at present it lacks the money to complete all of them.

Of the projects MoDOT has undertaken in the last decade, 94 percent were included in the 1992 plan.

Several prospective lawmakers complained that all existing fuel tax revenue is not being used for road construction and is instead being diverted to other agencies. Hungerbeeler said that is a problem for them to fix should they be elected.

"The money is not going where you think it is, but that is not MoDOT's fault," Hungerbeeler said. "MoDOT does not pass appropriations bills."

Others at the forum questioned why it takes so long for MoDOT to complete projects.

Chief engineer Kevin Keith said part of the problem is the numerous bureaucratic hoops the department must jump through to get a project approved.

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