By MARK CROARKIN
Each year, the staff at the Missouri Dept. of Transportation works with metropolitan planning organizations and regional planning commissions across the state to identify and compile the annual High-Priority Unfunded Needs list.
This list details unfunded road, bridge and multimodal needs for each region. For these needs to receive approval and move on to completed construction, funding must first be identified. This list prioritizes those regional and statewide needs and positions Missouri to be ready as funding becomes available at the state or federal level.
This year, 24 needs worth $321 million were moved from the unfunded needs list to the FY 2026-2030 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program, which lists transportation projects planned by MoDOT and regional agencies for the next five years and funds more than 1,200 projects throughout the state. This year’s STIP is one of the largest to date and makes available $13.3 billion of federal and state revenues for all modes of transportation.
This year’s draft High-Priority Unfunded Needs list identifies $4.7 billion in road and bridge needs, which are divided into three tiers. Tier one includes $525 million and focuses on needs that could be accomplished within the timeframe of the current five-year STIP as funding becomes available, with the second and third tiers looking at needs beyond the current STIP timeframe with broader estimates. In addition, $1 billion in multimodal needs were identified.
In August, MoDOT teams in each district presented their region’s high-priority unfunded needs to partners, legislators and citizens. The presentations included draft goals for MoDOT’s Long-Range Transportation Plan, which serves as a road map for the state’s transportation network through 2050 and addresses emerging and evolving needs that impact the system. Presentations for each region can be viewed at modot.org. Viewers can leave comments through the form at the bottom of the page, which is open through Sept. 11. The final High-Priority Unfunded Needs list will be presented to the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission at its October meeting.
The needs identified in the High-Priority Unfunded Needs list help determine future projects for the state’s transportation infrastructure. The work put forth by our planning partners across the state to identify these needs is invaluable. Together, through this process, we can provide the best return on investment to the citizens of the state.
Mark Croarkin is the Missouri Dept. of Transportation’s assistant chief engineer.