KBIA Local
(2010-01-22)
JEFFERSON CITY, MISSOURI
(KBIA) -
A new state audit finds that the Missouri Department of transportation underestimated how much money they would need for road and bridge repair over the next 20 years. From Jefferson City, Marshall Griffin reports:In a report issued in 2008, MoDOT estimated the difference between money available and the actual cost to build and repair road and bridges to be nearly 19 billion dollars. But State Auditor Susan Montee says the gap was likely much larger, because it was estimated without allowing for inflation:
We need to know that the revenue projections and the funding projections are real...when we go to the public and say, 'we have a shortfall and we need to fund it,' we need to know that we have reliable numbers.
In response, MoDOT officials say the report was written for the general public, to give them a glimpse of the state's transportation needs. They also say that the audit should have focused on a prior Long Range Transportation Plan, which they say contained reliable estimates.
© Copyright 2012, KBIA
