Meeting looks at area transportation needs

A map of Missouri bled red Tuesday after community leaders circled ports they would like to see updated, roads they want extended, and sites where they say transit facilities are needed.

The map will be used by Delta Regional Authority officials, who are in the process of developing a 20-year strategic plan. They will present policy recommendations to Congress this summer, and a final plan is expected to be complete by January 2009.

"We need a facility in the worst way," said Shirley Allen with the Mississippi County Transit System. She and Shirley Tarwater, who works on the Missouri Department of Transportation's transit staff, highlighted four areas where they would like to see a transit facility, including East Prairie, Mo., and Dexter, Mo. The facility would provide housing for vehicles and a location for routine maintenance.

Tarwater would like to see expanded services. "Many counties don't offer service five days a week, so people can't use them to get to their jobs," said Tarwater, who said high gas prices or unreliable transportation may limit employment opportunities.

She came armed to the meeting with a list of public transit needs in Missouri, highlighting two other needs: the replacement of high-mileage vehicles and upgrades to computer systems that would automatize dispatching and scheduling. An east-west intercity bus route through Southeast Missouri also is needed, she said.

Kent Van Landuyt, assistant to the director for MoDOT, also came prepared with a report in response to the Delta Regional Authority's inventory survey. The authority completed an asset inventory and is finalizing a database of needs.

MoDOT is recommending $8.8 million for aviation projects, including airfield preservation and expansion and navigational aids; $10.9 million for railroad projects, including railroad bridge clearance in Poplar Bluff; $3.8 million for port projects, including $700,000 for the Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority; and $4.67 billion for highway projects, including $40 million to enhance Highway 67 in Butler County to the Arkansas border.

The authority is a federal-state partnership to improve the economy in the Delta. The authority covers 240 counties and parishes in parts of Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee. The authority helps organize health-care, information technology, work-force and leadership development and transportation initiatives.

lbavolek@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123

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