MoDOT Commission Chair: Not My Bridge, Not My Road!

Stephen Miller is Chair of the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission, which oversees MoDOT.

Miller distributes a regular column with his thoughts about the issues the face MoDOT and Missouri's transportation system. You can contact the Commission and ask to receive Miller's column regularly via email here.

In this week's column, Miller writes:

“Not in my backyard” – NIMBY – is a saying and acronym which expresses a truism. Issues do not become real until they affect us personally in some concrete, tangible way. The placement of nuclear waste disposal sites, landfills, power plants, waste water facilities, roads, etc. is someone else’s problem – until the location is our “backyard.” Then it’s our concern.

Since 2006, MoDOT has warned of the “financial cliff” and its consequences. The term was used so often that it became cliché and the warning merely another “cry of wolf.”

Stephen Miller, MoDOT Commission Chair

Until now.

Last month MoDOT released its list of roads and bridges where services will be reduced. Suddenly the problem seems much more real – even for me. While I have been well aware of the impending consequences of insufficient funding, it made a difference when I saw on the list the roads that I travel frequently in Kansas City such as the Bruce Watkins Expressway and the Broadway Extension (my route to the airport) and bridges such as Heart of America and Broadway that run through the heart of the city connecting north and south. And, I have to confess, my first reaction is that those can’t be on the list. I rely on them on almost every day. But, this is the new reality.

This realization has caused me to create a new acronym to add to the MoDOT lexicon:  NMBR (pronounced “number”)  – “Not my bridge or road.” Check the list. What roads and bridges near you are on the list? How will your life be affected? Every part of Missouri and every Missourian will be affected. Go to: www.modot.org/toughchoicesahead and check the roads and bridges in your area.

What can we do? There are possible funding options, but before they can go anywhere there must be a sense of urgency. And, generally there is not an urgency until one is affected personally. The MoDOT list of roads and bridges represents an opportunity – an opportunity to make our current plight personal. You can’t review the list without being affected. I am convinced that most Missourians still do not appreciate the problem at hand or think that it is not real or expect some last-minute rescue. So spread the word: the problem is now, it is real and it is up to Missourians to fix it.

Let’s get going!

Onward!

 

Stephen R. Miller

Chairman

Read more of Chairman Miller's View from the Chair columns here.

Visit the Missouri HIghways and Transportation Commission page here.