Skip to main content

MoDOT launches guide to transportation funding

In an effort to inform Missourians on the current status and future direction of their transportation system, Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) has issued the Citizen’s Guide to Transportation Funding to explain where the money comes from and where it is spent. It also includes a calculator so people can figure out their monthly costs for transportation taxes and fees. Missouri ranks 47th nationally in revenue per mile, primarily because it has the nation’s seventh largest road system with 33
December 15, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
In an effort to inform Missourians on the current status and future direction of their transportation system, 1773 Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) has issued the Citizen’s Guide to Transportation Funding to explain where the money comes from and where it is spent. It also includes a calculator so people can figure out their monthly costs for transportation taxes and fees.

Missouri ranks 47th nationally in revenue per mile, primarily because it has the nation’s seventh largest road system with 33,873 miles of highways, which is funded with one of the lowest fuel taxes in the country: 17 cents per gallon.

Missouri also ranks sixth nationally in the number of bridges with 10,394. This does not include the city and county system of roads and bridges, which includes an additional 97,000 miles of county roads and city streets and nearly 14,000 bridges.

Missouri’s transportation revenue totalled almost US$2.5 billion in fiscal year 2016. Nearly two-thirds of the revenue came from state user fees and one-third from federal revenue. A small fraction of funds came from Missouri’s General Revenue Fund, which receives revenue from the state income tax and the state’s general sales tax.

MoDOT does not receive the entire US$2.5 billion of transportation revenue, or the US$30 per month from the average Missouri driver. After allocations to cities, counties, other state agencies and debt payment, MoDOT received US$1.4 billion of transportation revenues in fiscal year 2016 to invest in the state transportation system. That equates to about $17 of the $30 per month Missouri drivers are paying.

Cities and counties in Missouri receive a share of state and federal transportation revenues for projects of their choosing. In fiscal year 2016, that totalled US$408 million – US$270 million in state funds and US$138 million in federal funds.

Over the last 20 years, due to inflation and ever-improving vehicle fuel economy, the purchasing power of Missouri’s state fuel tax has effectively dropped from 17 cents to 8 cents during a time when the cost of the primary road and bridge building materials of asphalt, concrete and steel have doubled. Labour costs have also significantly risen during that time frame.

Missouri’s revenue per mile is US$50,766, while the national average is US$216,533.

Related Content

  • July 8, 2019
    London needs just one road user charge, says report
    London’s patchwork of road charging schemes should be replaced by a single, distance-based user charge, according to new research. Apart from anything else, it would be much fairer… The UK capital’s multiple road charging schemes require a radical overhaul, according to a new report by the Centre for London thinktank. The suggested solution is to replace existing levies on drivers with a single, distance-based user charge which would more fairly reflect how much, and at what time, people are using London
  • September 5, 2017
    Idaho WIM systems save trucking industry time and money
    Figures released by the Idaho Transportation Department indicate that weigh-in-motion (WIM) systems installed at the state’s four points of entry (POE) have saved the trucking industry time and money in the last year. The data shows that trucks bypassing the port save an average of five minutes of time per incident, and almost a half a gallon of fuel. This amounts to a savings of about US$8.68 per bypass. Commercial trucks using WIM to bypass Idaho ports saved 33,365 hours and more than 16,000 gallons of
  • November 1, 2023
    The challenging European road to carbon neutrality and the need for distance-based charging
    Fuel taxes are falling and EVs have the potential to create social equity issues. The answer may lie in expanding the use of technology which has successfully been used for two decades with trucks
  • January 11, 2013
    Transportation systems should be self-sustaining says study
    A recent study by US public policy think tank claims the nation's growing debt and budget deficits are increasingly impacting efforts to build, upgrade and maintain transportation infrastructure. The study proposes that transportation funding should be shifted to direct user fees, long-term financing and private capital, foundation officials said in a prepared statement. The study recommends a series of tax, regulatory and organisational changes that would help modernise the nation's airports, air traffic c