MoDOT, Lawmakers Consider Toll on I-70

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Intro:	The Missouri Department of Transportation director brought his multi-billion dollar plan for the reconstruction of Interstate-70 before state lawmakers.
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Wrap: In a Joint Transportation Committee hearing, MoDOT Director Kevin Keith told lawmakers the best solution is making I-70 a toll road.

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Description: "This is not a concept that says if you don't like it we can do it some way else. If you want to rebuild I-70 in the next 50 years, you've got to have some way to pay for it. And right now it's the only option I know of."

But House Transportation Committee Chairman Charlie Denison has suggested a sales tax increase as another source of funding.

...something the Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Stouffer proposed in 2007.

Keith says an extra half-cent sales tax for ten years would be needed to finance a new I-70.

From the state Capitol, I'm Elizabeth Hagedorn, Newsradio 1120 KMOX.

Intro:	The Missouri Department of Transportation director laid his plan before state lawmakers to make Interstate 70 a toll road.
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Wrap:MoDOT Director Kevin Keith called the state of I-70 a crisis.

He says making the interstate a toll road is the best way to pay for any major reconstruction.

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Description: "It's old... it's 60 years old almost. And the real problem with I-70 is not just its physical condition it's that it doesn't meet the capacity and safety needs of Missourians for the next 50 years."

But Transportation Committee Chair Senator Bill Stouffer said he's concerned making drivers pay a toll on I-70 would push traffic onto other roads not equipped to handle more drivers.

To which Keith admitted this is a valid concern.

In 2007, Stouffer supported a statewide sales tax increase to deal with Missouri's overcrowded interstates.

From the state Capitol, I'm Elizabeth Hagedorn, Newsradio 1120 KMOX.

Intro:	Missouri's Transportation Department director urged lawmakers to consider making Interstate 70 a toll road.
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Wrap: As it stands now, the fuel tax that drivers in Missouri pay is used to maintain the state roads.

But MoDoT Director Kevin Keith says it's not enough to rebuild I-70.

He urged lawmakers on the Joint Transportation Committee to consider making the interstate a toll road.

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Description: "We've paid for the existing road and the existing road has done pretty well. But we haven't funded the interstate system for the next fifty years in this country anywhere, including I-70. It just hasn't been done."

Lincoln County Democratic Representative Ed Schieffer questioned whether drivers would prefer a tax to a toll.

Keith says a half-cent sales tax would be needed to pay for the multi-million dollar project.

From the state Capitol, Elizabeth Hagedorn, Newsradio 1120 KMOX.