DOT 116-08
Contact:  Sarah Echols, Tel.: (202) 366-4570
Tuesday, August 19, 2008

St. Louis Traffic to Improve Under New Transportation Reform Plan, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters Says 

ST. LOUIS – Communities like St. Louis will have greater resources and flexibility to cut traffic congestion and expand busy highway corridors under a plan to reform the nation’s surface transportation program, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters announced today during a visit to the region. 

The Secretary noted, for example, that projects like planned improvements to local Interstates 70 and 64 would be more likely to receive federal support and funding under the new Bush Administration proposal. 

“Our proposal will make it significantly easier to widen I-70, improve I-64, finance local transit projects and cut commuting times region wide,” the Secretary Peters said. 

The Secretary said central to the reform plan is a new Metropolitan Mobility Program for St. Louis and other major urban areas with populations over half a million people.  The program would give local officials a direct payment of federal funds and unprecedented flexibility to invest the federal dollars in their most pressing transportation needs, whether it be expanding transit systems or new highways, she said. 

“Under our approach, communities will no longer have to slice and dice every federal dollar to qualify for niche programs that do little to improve their communities or commutes,” Secretary Peters said.  “Instead, projects that make sense for commuters get funded, while projects designed only to help politicians won’t.” 

The Secretary said that as part of the plan, St. Louis leaders would receive one lump federal funding allocation with one overarching criteria – that the projects stand up to a benefit-cost analysis.  She said projects that can demonstrate positive results for commuters and good investments for taxpayers would be rewarded, instead of the current system that rewards rampant earmarks, political muscle and bridges to nowhere. 

“The idea is simple, good highway and transit projects shouldn’t have to rely on earmarks, and bad projects shouldn’t get good money earmarked to them,” the Secretary said.  “That’s bad news for those looking to build bridges to nowhere or highways for no one, but its great news for people who want a faster and more reliable commute.” 

The Secretary added that the reform proposal calls for a renewed federal focus on Interstate highways, especially along busy freight corridors like I-70.  “Instead of being forced to fund light houses and museums, states will finally have the resources they need to maintain and expand their highways,” Secretary Peters noted. 

The plan also gives communities like St. Louis greater flexibility to use variable pricing on the region’s roads, while improving the flow of traffic on local roads.  She said that would make it easier for communities to generate revenue for other, equally ambitious transit and highway projects. 

The Secretary said the plan lays out the Administrations’ reform framework, and is intended to spur local, state and federal debate about how best to incorporate the new reforms into surface transportation legislation Congress will consider this fall.  Additional details on the reform plan are available at www.fightgridlocknow.gov.

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