MoDOT's new director shares insights
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Click on the image above to watch MoDOT's new director, Patrick McKenna, talk about what he brings to MoDOT, some of the first things he will address and his philosophy on leadership and being a good leader.
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Tough choices - what really matters
Just getting to work every day requires a personal experience with transportation. With limited resources, Missouri faces many tough choices ahead when it comes to long-term transportation support.
With "What Really Matters," MoDOT presents individual stories of how transportation touches the lives of those around us.
In this story, Craig Thompson, of Golden Valley Memorial Hospital, discusses the roll infrastructure plays in accessing healthcare services.
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Craig Thompson, Chief Operating Officer at Golden Valley Memorial Hospital in Clinton, knows that "seconds safe lives!" Click above to hear Thompson share his personal story.
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The hospital is concerned about ambulances getting to patients quickly due to congestion on state roadways surrounding the hospital, which makes it extremely problematic for ambulances to get into and out of the hospital.
Click here to read more - Accessing Healthcare - It's Personal.
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The Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety wants to remind those who plan to celebrate the holidays to designate a sober driver or call a cab to avoid driving impaired.
Statewide, law enforcement will be on the lookout for impaired drivers with targeted enforcement efforts Dec. 18, 2015 to Jan. 3, 2016.
What's tragic about substance-impaired crashes is that they are clearly preventable.
Substance-impaired driving is a crime, not an "accident", and is one of America's most often committed and deadliest crimes. There are no excuses to drive impaired. The facts are known - drinking and driving can be a lethal combination.
To learn more, visit savemolives.com, or find them on Facebook and Twitter at Save MO Lives, #DriveSoberMO.
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Driving I-70? What's the best day of the week?
You've probably noticed when traveling on Interstate 70 from state line to state line that you have a lot of company. The interstate carries approximately 20,000 to 60,000 vehicles per day depending on where you are on the rural sections. In the urban areas of Kansas City, Columbia and St. Louis, the I-70 volumes can easily double. So if you are traveling I-70, what's the best day of the week or time of day to travel?
 Based on 2014 data, traffic volumes are lowest on Sunday and gradually increase daily to Friday, which is the highest. Saturday traffic volumes are similar to a Wednesday. On any given week day, the highest volume hours are the evening rush period of approximately 4-6 p.m. in either direction. On Saturday and Sunday, there is not an evening rush, but the heavier traffic volumes are all in the afternoon. The closer you are to one of the three urban areas, there is also a morning commute peak as well.
In terms of crashes, the winter months of January, February and March have the highest crash numbers due to weather-related incidents. Sunday afternoons appear to be the highest crash day of the week anywhere along I-70.
MoDOT has a long-term plan to rebuild and widen I-70, but there is currently no funding for any large-scale statewide project. Missouri's state highway system is the seventh largest in the nation with more than 34,000 miles and more than 10,000 bridges, but it is funded at the 47th lowest revenue.
Before you take your next trip on I-70, you can check travel speeds and road conditions on MoDOT's Traveler Information Map at http://traveler.modot.org/map/. The map is also available as a free app.
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Increased efficiency is always the goal - but it is not the solution
by Steve Miller, Chairman, Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission
Every business should endeavor to be more efficient - MoDOT is no different. As Patrick McKenna takes over as director, the Commission has asked him to scrutinize all MoDOT operations and procedures. This is what CEOs do when they take over a new enterprise. They bring their prior experience and outsider's perspective; they take a fresh look at what may have
 become so routine and accepted it is no longer questioned by those within the organization. The Commission knows that MoDOT will benefit from a newcomer's perspective.
It has been suggested by some that Missouri's transportation funding crisis can be solved by simply squeezing more efficiencies out of MoDOT. Such suggestions ignore the fact that MoDOT has already done just that. In March of 2010, MoDOT embarked on a five-year effort to reduce its workforce by 20 percent (from 6,300 to just over 5,100 - a reduction of 1,200 employees), close 124 facilities (including three district offices which employed hundreds) and sell off almost 750 pieces of heavy equipment. The goal was to save $512 million by March 2015 and put it back on Missouri's roads.
The successful implementation of MoDOT's right-sizing exercise, though, happened much faster than anticipated. The workforce goal was reached by early 2013, and the other goals were met by the fall of 2014. Not only was the $512 million saved, but the accelerated pace boosted savings to $605 million - every dollar of which went back into the program to provide infrastructure improvements that Missourians want and need. Without these measures, the current crisis would have occurred years earlier.
Read More.
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Missouri Dept. of Transportation | (888) 275-6636
P.O. Box 270 Jefferson City, MO 65102-0270
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