Jonathan Shorman

News-Leader

With a new sales tax creating the potential for hundreds of millions of dollars to flow into area transportation projects, civic leaders have finished crafting a list of priority work.

More than two dozen projects, totaling nearly $224 million over 10 years, are on a list obtained by the News-Leader that was assembled by the Ozarks Transportation Organization. They hinge on voters approving the new tax in August.

The OTO group is wrapping up a six-month-long process of selecting the projects. Following final approval and a public comment period, the list will be forwarded on to the state. The state is expected to make final project selections later this month.

The projects are diverse, including highway improvements, maintenance and expansion of bus service in Springfield.

Among them:

• $22.7 to improve capacity on James River Freeway between U.S. 65 and Kansas Expressway

• $8.5 million for CU Transit fleet and service improvements

• $2.5 million to expand OATS busing service for the disabled and elderly in Greene and Christian County

• $40 million for maintenance of existing infrastructure

If Missouri voters approve the ¾ cent transportation sales tax, the tax could generate more than $500 million statewide each year for 10 years — potentially the largest tax increase in the state's history.

"To have $22 million a year, it will make a huge difference for our area," said Sara Fields, director of the Ozarks Transportation Organization.

Without a new source of revenue, officials at the Missouri Department of Transportation say they soon won't have money to adequately maintain roads and bridges, much less undertake any major new projects. Over the past five years, Missouri's construction budget for roads and bridges has fallen from about $1.3 billion annually to $685 million this year. It is projected to dip to $325 million by the 2017 budget.

Lawmakers this spring approved sending the tax question to voters. The House gave final legislative approval to the measure by a bipartisan 105-43 vote. The Senate passed it 22-10.

Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon has placed the proposal on the August ballot. In a statement Monday, he criticized the tax push, saying it would affect working families and seniors disproportionately.

"I cannot in good conscience endorse a $6.1 billion tax hike on Missouri families and seniors when special interests and the wealthy are being showered with sweetheart deals. This tax hike is neither a fair nor fiscally responsible solution to our transportation infrastructure needs and it does not have my support," Nixon said.

Fields said her organization had been preparing for a sales tax question to appear on the November ballot, where it would have been if Nixon had not intervened.

"Luckily, we began early. Obviously, we were out ahead of it and were looking pretty good when we got the news that it would be in August," Fields said. "The biggest challenge is going to be educating the voters and getting the word out. We had hoped there would be additional time for questions and PR and stuff like that."

The Ozarks Transportation Organization gathered public input in the early spring, soliciting opinions online and in public meetings. The results, published in an April report, showed that expanding Route 160 to four lanes between Springfield and Willard and expanding James River Freeway to six lanes between U.S. 65 and West Bypass had significant support.

Nixon, while slamming the proposed tax, acknowledged the need for a "robust discussion" about the state's long-term transportation infrastructure needs.

"Along with a highly-skilled workforce, quality schools, and healthy communities, well-maintained roads and bridges are key to our economic competitiveness. However, any proposal to change how we fund transportation must be considered in the context of the overall tax policy of our state and funding for other priorities like education," Nixon said.

Asked about Nixon's objections, Fields stayed out of the discussion over whether a sales tax is the best way to fund transportation improvements.

"It's one of those problems that, if not addressed now will be impossible to catch up," Fields said. "The mechanism by which it is financed is not as much our concern, just that it is financed."

The Associated Press contributed reporting.

Top 5 Projects

Below is a list of five costliest projects proposed by the Ozarks Transportation Organization that would be funded by a proposed ¾ cent statewide sales tax. The descriptions are taken from a full list of projects provided to the News-Leader.

• 1) $40 million for maintenance of the existing MODOT system

• 2) $25.3 million for capacity improvements from U.S. 60 to Route CC

• 3) $24.5 million for funding emerging needs, partnerships and grant matching

• 4) $22.7 million for capacity improvements from U.S. 65 to Kansas Expressway

• 5) $20 million for continuation of Route 13, using a cost share with Greene County and Springfield.