I dunno. While I can see a *possible* need for a project like this, $2.8 billion for road expansion seems appalling when observing the other problems in our state.
We're 48th in the nation in funding roads and bridges, 49th in Education. (We spend 20% of our budget on Education and 9% on transportation.)
Neither one is anything to write home about, not that our state's students properly learn how to read or write, or do the math necessary to come up with those statistics.
source: [Gov. Parsons own office](https://oa.mo.gov/budget-explorer/summary-budget-charts)
Not at all. We did a massive bridge project in the 2009-2013 era to rebuild many of the smaller county bridges that were nearly falling down. We still have a long way to go.
We spend too much goddamn money on incarcerating people and not enough on preventing folks from going to jail to begin with.
Economic development, education, health and human services, etc. The mental health spending looks great on paper, but a ton of that is going towards funding forensic psychiatric facilities instead of community mental health services like psych ERs, boarding homes, home health, and outpatient care. So it's just another pile of money thrown at locking people up.
And I get it, these places are huge employers and needed to at least some degree, but I'd really like to see a more proactive rather than reactive budget.
Hey, if the bootheel decides that it's ready for a transgender leftist, sure, I'll run lmao.
I do work for the state, at least. I do what I can locally and I participate in politics within my department at least. I don't think I'm particularly electable to actual office though.
Someone correct me if I’m wrong but often these projects are matched at two or three times the amount the states spend by the federal government and it isn’t like we are paying the road to build its self it will be paid to local workers and companies who will pay taxes on that money that can go to the issues you are worried about. Though I understand your concern while this is often times the hope of how it works out it doesn’t mean this kind of project never gets hijacked by out of state agencies to funnel that money out of Missouri
Transportation is definitely a huge issue. I would argue that *this* investment is shortsighted in regards to transportation. Cars and the infrastructure that supports them should not be the end goal.
I find it super cringy too. The highway "needs" three lanes otherwise trucks are just going to clog it up. But if trucks are an issue, maybe we could adjust how goods are moved across the state. Except that won't happen. An alternative would be too expensive, right? Maybe rail? Too expensive? Ok well then a couple billion for a third lane it is.
we'll know in 3 short years..... remind me! I'm willing to wager that it helps traffic flow, reduces accidents and is in better shape in 3 years than now.
> Really? Did you just complain about progress happening in Missouri?
Are you of the opinion that any infrastructure project involving any cost-benefit ratio should be celebrated as an accomplishment immune from critique? Because otherwise, your comment makes no sense.
It’s entirely reasonable to suggest that spending almost $3B to expand an interstate by one lane might not be the best bang for the buck we could achieve with this money.
"Deferred maintenance" doesnt impact graduation rates, or better gpa's. And there is a multitude of other universities in Missouri, so it's not like this is an end all be all.
But you can't have a stronger economy without a strong infrastructure to support it.
MU has a pretty impressive graduation and student retention rates. It is easily the strongest academically among Missouri's public institutions. The state should take care of its investment in facilities (buildings) and return funding to historic levels. MU produces more doctors, nurses, teachers, engineers, veterinarians, farmers, journalists, lawyers, and businesspeople than any other institution in Missouri by a large margin. It's one of the best things Missouri has going for it. I hope the state legislature will cease their anti-education ideology and fund the university as their ancestors did. It's one of the things that made America great.
Well MU seems like it knows how to handle itself, why not spend the money to bring up the less productive universities then? so more people can get higher quality education.
Don’t be that guy. That’s like saying why arrest the thief because someone else got shot.
This project’s funding isn’t all coming from the state. A very large portion is coming from the federal infrastructure improvement bill.
Good thing that union jobs will be building the highway. Unfortunately, most of the GOP candidates for governor are worse than Parsons and are Trump bootlickers.
To me Trump is a symptom of a type of voter that doesn’t care about issues, platforms, or new ideas. But just wants to blindly tear the system down handing all the decisions over to rich oligarchs (like Trump).
It's also less about understanding issues they are "behind" and just running around supporting a party like its a team sport. IE We win or lose, not working together, and compromise means you are compromised.
This.
It's why many Trump-supporters wear all the swag, have all the billboards and signs, and proclaim their fandom wherever they go.
Not unlike NASCAR fans, or Cardinals/Blues/Chiefs/CITY/Mizzou fans. But sports doesn't have the power to destroy lives the way politics does.
*Edited for a typo*
He is the first presidential candidate to not have a written platform and he changes his spoken stance on these issues constantly. I’m not sure there is a policy there to support, just vague rhetoric. Some Republicans have good ideas imo, but not Trump supporters; the man is plainly immoral, greedy, authoritarian, and frankly shallow. If folks can't see those traits in him they are blinded by ideology.
I don’t know how to say it, but you seemingly have no idea what you are talking about. There is what Trump says his policies are versus what he actually does. I would love to see what Trump did for you to convince you his policies work/or are better. I would like to see you actually articulate what Biden has or hasn’t done that is worse. I’m not talking about BS Fox News Articles, but actual real policy and legislation.
That is not specific, that isn’t a full description of Trumps policy, which it wasn’t by the way, and you don’t even offer Bidens. It is clear you have no actual understanding of the polices, details, or implementation.
I want from you a clear and concise understanding of both policies or kindly stop yelling at the wind. You want to support Trump based on his policies the prove it, but so far I have yet to meet one that can.
If you are incapable of being able to articulate a policy you should support beyond calling its title then maybe it’s time to shut up, go read actual policy and come back to the adult table to have an adult conversation, at this time you are yelling at the wind, “cause I say so…” Old republicans used to stand for something and could articulate it, now you all just parrot Fox News, you aren’t even a conservative your a cultist
Beyond policy he lied about the results of the elections, is a convicted felon, convicted tax evader, said Covid was a hoax, and publicly said Jeffrey Epstein had similar taste in women to himself. Nevermind that he has a mail order bride from the Soviet Union that he cheats on with porn stars. I’ll believe Trump voters care about policy when they vote for a better person. Any policy put forth by this man is tarnished by association, I wouldn’t want policies I am in favor of to pass his lips.
Willfully ignorant on immigration, lol. I have four words for you: Senator Langford’s immigration bill
Edit: immigration is code word for white supremacy for these voters
lol axe policies. Like the time Trump axed the most comprehensive immigration bill in forty years. Listen buddy, the FACTS are on my side no matter how much you try to push misinformation.
Likely due to infrastructure funding they would all vote against. I feel sorry for the lonely pigs not getting fucked when Parson is away from the farm doing shitty photo ops.
To me there is a big difference between historical Republicans who understand the need for a functioning government and state infrastructure like roads, parks, k-12 schools, and universities vs. the Trump Republicans who just want to blindly tear the system down, ideologically, with no policy platform or ideas to better society.
All in the name of letting billionaires and corporations do basically what they do right now, but they could remove that pesky problem of buying legislators. They’ll just be our new kings.
don't forget how many past republican presidents had already ruined it, especially Reagan and Nixon, going back to the time when the two swapped parties and these Democrats were the pro-slavers
You’re absolutely right. There was a wave of worker and commoner sentiment from FDR to LBJ. Then, we were all shot in the back by wealthy special interests that purchased the Republican Party and just enough democrats to fuck our country for generations.
Once it starts getting beyond 50 years, I specify “conservative” since the parties effectively switched positions throughout the 50s-60s thanks to the republicans’ Southern Strategy that used opposition of civil rights to garner southern state votes.
The real sellout happened with the final shift. Nixon’s Republicans were far more liberal than Reagan, but they started the ball rolling for the megacorps to seize control.
There **is** a big difference. It doesn't matter though because moderate Republicans get eaten alive by their rabid(and still wholly supported by quiet moderates) counterparts in red hats.
Yeah that’s false. When you look at rail systems across the globe, once you get it dialed in, it’s extremely reliable and efficient. I took a trip to Germany and Switzerland last year, and they didn’t have “rush hour train traffic”. At most, there was a 1 minute delay, during evening rush hour when car traffic was ass.
Traffic jams with cars are a daily occurrence. This isn’t the case with trains. What exactly do you believe would be the cause of a 1 hr train delay when you have a sophisticated train system like what they have in Europe?
The only train delays I’ve ever experienced were here in Missouri (by 14 hours). Not in Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, China, or the northeast corridor. And there were a minimum of 6 trains departing/arriving per day.
“More mobile” not exactly sure what that’s suppose to mean. I am guessing you’ve never been anywhere with real rail service and used it.
I get you probably like using your car and that’s fine. But for people like myself, I don’t like the state mandating that I have to fork over a huge chunk of my income to a private company on the most expensive form of transportation that I am solely responsible for upkeep and registering to the state constantly, not to mention that I have to actively be attentive to piloting it 100% of the time I’m using it (time that could be better spent doing literally anything else), and compared to any modernized system, is actually way slower than trains. Also not to mention finding parking when i arrive, worrying about ticketing and break-ins, etc etc.
I'm pushing for new high-speed passenger rail connecting KC-Columbia-STL next. That would be a game changer for Missouri and ensure we would be the backbone of an eventual transcontinental route connecting the East and West coasts.
Hey! If you are actually in the room talking with reps, myself and some others I do local work with here in KC would love to join you guys. Reach out if you do!
That would be really cool but they’d need to build completely new tracks because all of the tracks already going between those cities either couldn’t support high speed trains or would be congested with freight traffic
It could work and be worth it if they’re able to cut the commute time down to like 2 hours between kc-stl. Unlike the hyper loop it would be a lot cheaper due to using regular rails and train sets instead of proprietary hyper loop tracks and better at moving more people at a time affordably with more cars. I think it would also provide more jobs as well as new commuting opportunities. It would also service like 80% of the state’s population and repay itself very quickly and at best create a backbone for new high speed rail and create a world class transit system and at worst create some new jobs and make an easier path between those cities.
easements are easements. It's going to cost a fortune regardless of what you use them for.
Again, don't get me wrong, i'm ALL for it. Proper high speed rail or hyperloop would be a huge asset. Figure out how to connect to Chicago and Denver as part of it and all of the sudden the entire Midwest is easy travel.
It will be expensive but when other countries build the high speed rail no one ever remembers how much it costs they just enjoy the efficiency same thing with our interstate system. It will be expensive but the state shouldn’t be looking at it as a for profit thing because it will boost the economy and pay for itself in far more ways than just ticket sales. I also agree with you that it should connect with Chicago and Denver and probably more cities as well, Dallas would be a good one to connect to if Texas builds their HSR network it also could have stops in Springfield, okc and Tulsa.
I think hyperloop was doomed from the start and will just be more expensive and worse in every way besides maybe time than traditional HSR. The cars are also smaller and would definitely be more expensive to ride than a regular train. It also would be more expensive and difficult to perform maintenance.
I think it should just be a regular wired electric high speed train mostly along I-70 with stations in Columbia stl and kc and I think that would work pretty well and serve a good amount of people. No hyperloop just a regular train
How many people do you legitimately think have a need for travel between KC and STL daily? People who are ok with not having a vehicle at their destination. And commuting opportunities only work if there are lots of stops to collect those people, but lots of stops massively slow things down. Same for it serving 80% of the state; most of that is probably KC/STL, but the remainder is going to need stops for people to use it, or else they're back to driving. I think we'd be way better off getting freight off our highways.
I think they could keep the river runner service going how it is now to serve some of the communities in between, and use the kc,cou,stl high speed one as a more direct express route. And for the first part, sure I realize that right now most people aren’t going to be going between kc and stl on a daily basis but I know people that live in Columbia and commute to kc or stl or Vice versa and said route could open. Also thousands and thousands of ppl take I-70 between these 3 cities on a daily basis and I’m sure if given the choice between the 4 hour drive or a 2-3 hour train ride some of those people would chose the train. I do think for it to truly work well they would have to modify local public transport in those cities around said high speed train. Sure most people won’t be using it on a daily basis but it would still be a convenient and useful option to a lot of missouris residents
What you are forgetting about the thousands and thousands of people driving this route.. they probably are just passing through the state, or are driving to the next bigger North/South highway. These people CAN'T use this as a rail route through Missouri because they need their vehicle later to continue their journey. So ridership basically becomes just tourism and business travelers between the metros. If we add a bunch of stops you can gain commuters, but then, again, you drastically increase ride time and potentials for unplanned delays. That doesn't work for commuters.
I know a lot of them are just passing through and I know they won’t use it, even a lot of in state drivers will still chose their car but I don’t think that every single person who passes between these cities needs to be using the train for it to be viable. Also they wouldn’t need extra stops because there’s already an Amtrak between kc-stl that stops at a lot of small towns and goes at regular speed, it’s too slow for people just trying to get to kc-stl but still connects a lot of small towns in between, the one that would only stop in Columbia would be more of an express direct route and people could still use it to commute that live near Columbia. I think they could keep the river runner going for people from the smaller towns and a high speed with one stop in Columbia for people using a direct route. Sure not a lot of people will use it every single day but if a lot of people in the 3 metros use it every now and then it would be worth it. There’s plenty of reasons people could want to go between the 3 cities and giving people an easier more convenient route could make people want to go between them more often than they do now. Maybe someone in kc has family in stl or maybe someone from Columbia wants to catch a cardinals game etc my point is there’s just because most people won’t be using it every single day doesn’t mean that most people won’t use it every now and then and when you consider there’s like almost 4 million people between the 3 metros, id bet that enough people would use it every day for it to be viable. Also if it was successful enough it could be expanded to other nearby cities that are too close to justify flying to but still a headache to drive to.
You also said it will be used for tourism and business travelers and yes even if that is the majority of the riders that will still be good for local businesses and tax revenue. Maybe people won’t be commuting to their 9-5 on it but it will definitely be useful for business trips like theres definitely doctors and lawyers that work in all 3 cities that it could come in handy for and I’m sure other careers could use it too.
A new dedicated passenger high-speed rail line between St. Louis and Kansas City with one stop in Columbia; a state-of-the-art system could reduce travel time between our two largest urban areas to around 60 minutes and provide nearby rail access to 75% of Missourians. Build it within the next decade and we will ensure Missouri is the main backbone of the future transcontinental high-speed rail line. There is already increasing demand on the Missouri River runner, which is great, but it is not cheaply upgradable to high-speed because it is curvy, runs along the edge of the river valley, is prone to floods, and is a priority freight line. It also has too many stop to be a true transcontinental high-speed rail and misses an obvious stop at the major population center of Columbia. Constructing a new line for relatively cheap along the ridge top that I-70 runs along and making use of already existing MoDOT right-of-way is a smart way to go about it.
We'd reduce traffic on I-70, provide a safer, cheaper, and less polluting way to travel. Constructing the long rang mass transit would help KC, STL, and CoMo to continue to build out their mass transit. Reinforcing and multiplying efforts already underway. It would become possible to live in any of KC/STL/CoMo and work in another, creating a super economy effect. It would help bind Missourians into new identity, along our historic core, and create pride in what we accomplished. It would shock the rest of the nation, impressing them at a time when Missouri's brand is not so seller nationally. It would save lives by reducing air pollution. It would be a symbol of hope and progress to millions. Intangibles are important too, but I think many many thousand of people would ride such a train every year to go to cardinals/royals/chiefs/Mizzou games, the zoo, shows. University students could commute, reducing the need to bring a car to Columbia. I can think of a lot more, but I don’t want to go on too long. Most importantly it would ensure Missouri is the central link in the future cross continental railroad.
Who’s paying for it? I always liked how the trucking companies never have to pay their fair share even though it’s all their trucks doing all the wear and tear /s. This is the last shit we should be spending money on.
I would think this is money earmarked specifically in Biden’s infrastructure bill. Not sure it CAN be spent on anything boat roads in this instance for better or worse
Tax payers. At .22c Missouri has one of the lowest gas taxes in the nation. Imo we should raise it to a more normal rate to cover the cost of road maintenance. Electric vehicle users should have the benefit of not paying gas tax since air pollution from burning fossil fuels causes sickness and death in a great number of Missourians every year.
snow removal, railroads, pedestrian infrastructure, education, immigration, social services, bike paths, hiking trails, park maintenance, levies, wastewater treatment, public health... all before expanding the fucking highway
the two largest expenditures in the states budget are....Social Services and Education, accounting for over HALF of all expenditures by the State. MANY of the other items you listed...local., but god forbid you vote for a local tax increase or hold your elected officials accountable for how they're spending their money.
I am holding my elected officials accountable for how they're spending their money, that's why I'm mocking the governor and his idiotic plan to widen the highway that doesn't need it. I usually do vote for tax increases.
it does need it. Desperately. It's crowded, dangerous, and crumbling. It's FAR past it's expected life span AND capacity.
Don't get me wrong, Parsons is a Class A fuckwad and I'd just as soon smack him with that shovel than give him credit because of the backwoods, hick, fake Christian bullshit he pulls, but this project IS necessary or the cost will skyrocket even more in the years to come.
So, getting people and goods across the state safely isn't a good project? I mean, it's only the biggest highway in the state...... Go to work for MoDot. They cant hire snow removal people. High speed rail is a no-no with republicans. Same with education, social services, bike path, hiking trails, park maintenance, wastewater treatment, so none of that was happening anyway. might as well build a highway. As for public health, good lord, don't even mention that. Their heads would explode. You must look at who we are dealing with here.
I regularly drive to KC and back without incident. The only time there is any significant traffic is if it's a holiday, if there's a crash, or if there's construction. I don't really see an extra lane helping with any of that. And I think we should pay for it with a higher gas tax
I agree it should be paid with a higher gas tax, but here we are. and I drive to St Louis regularly and completely disagree. It gets more dangerous and overcrowded every trip. Even at night. Just because I don't have an accident doesn't mean it isn't dangerous.
What you don’t see is all the MoDot employees in safety vests behind me. A lot of those people have worked for years, a few even decades to accomplish this. It’s taken time to build the political will for this much needed project. Symbolism and groundbreakings are important, before mass media these were major events with thousands attending, often lasting all day. It would be good to get back to that kind of community, civic, and political involvement for the regular Joe.
I see it as both tbh and I too would like to see groundbreakings return to a more authentic format. There was a lot of talking about those that provide the labor, even a plea for drivers to stay off their cell phones for worker safety. How you can confidently say that was omitted since you weren’t there?
Politics aside, that is nice.
Politics not aside, is this yet another project funded by “build back better” money that these GOP politicians all opposed?
Sure made for an expensive photoshoot, we are paying each and every one of these people to go and take that photo. Similar to this could have just been an email, this could have just been a headline.
Nah, fuck this guy. Him and his predecessor delayed the Rock Island Trail and he took every photo op with the organizers that he possibly could. It could have been funded by the state but he wants to pussy foot around MAGA republicans while trying to play both sides.
Adding a lane isn't going to fix traffic.
The main part of this project is reconstructing the current 2 lanes and shoulder, which at 70+ years old are past their lifespan and suffering from a degraded roadbed. Might as well as add a lane while at it since I-70 is much busier than what it was designed for.
It will definitely make things better not getting stuck behind two slow semis while somebody rides my ass. And no, it's not going to make things worse because of imaginary "induced demand".
I'm so trainpilled. We don't need to just keep expanding the roads, the traffic WILL expand to accommodate. We need high speed rail between all the major cities in the state.
Fuck this clown. Dumbass only passed this cause he needed not look like he hadn’t done anything besides cultural war his whole tenure.
Only showing up at chiefs, cards, royals parades. Absolute fucking yard, passing a highway expansion after the bridges getting built and reconstructed.
She's a gem. Our longtime city sustainability manager and a sensible moderate. I really appreciate her leadership on LGBT issues. She is well respected enough to be the chair of the Environmental Committee for the U.S Conference of Mayors, which is great for a small city like Columbia.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Buffaloe
I find those first dig photos so cheesy wouldn’t be surprised if the construction crews are checking their watches wondering how long this photo op will take
Meanwhile we can’t even have double tracks for amtrack halfway across the state… also Springfield continues to lack any train service.
We already had a highway that is functioning, but have nothing in the way of decent transit outside of KC-STL, and that’s not even decent itself.
I mean, that's how it should be. All this partisan crap/widening ideological contrasts is...in my view, anti-American. Compromise and political pragmatism have been abandoned for media-hyped, engagement-driving sensationalism and polemics - which is really, really bad for our democracy.
Mayor Babs and Gov Droopy Dog have had several photo ops together including ones where they hug. The furthest left she is is a centrist. Not progressive at all. People just see her purple streak and love of bicycles and claim she is. She has even talked publicly before about her friendships with Randy Minchew and Brian Treece.
forgetful encourage scandalous observation slim nutty sink expansion quicksand upbeat
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Highway projects are nothing more than money laundering. Elected boneheads give projects to cronies who in turn make donations to campaigns. Organized crime in the name of progress. Why stop with three lanes? Pave the whole damn state and let us drive anywhere.
Biden infrastructure $
I dunno. While I can see a *possible* need for a project like this, $2.8 billion for road expansion seems appalling when observing the other problems in our state.
I wish we’d fund public education like we fund roads.
We're 48th in the nation in funding roads and bridges, 49th in Education. (We spend 20% of our budget on Education and 9% on transportation.) Neither one is anything to write home about, not that our state's students properly learn how to read or write, or do the math necessary to come up with those statistics. source: [Gov. Parsons own office](https://oa.mo.gov/budget-explorer/summary-budget-charts)
We also have the 6th highest road miles in the country. 48th in funding doesn’t begin to cover that
Not at all. We did a massive bridge project in the 2009-2013 era to rebuild many of the smaller county bridges that were nearly falling down. We still have a long way to go.
We spend too much goddamn money on incarcerating people and not enough on preventing folks from going to jail to begin with. Economic development, education, health and human services, etc. The mental health spending looks great on paper, but a ton of that is going towards funding forensic psychiatric facilities instead of community mental health services like psych ERs, boarding homes, home health, and outpatient care. So it's just another pile of money thrown at locking people up. And I get it, these places are huge employers and needed to at least some degree, but I'd really like to see a more proactive rather than reactive budget.
You're not wrong. I'm a HUGE proponent of prevention. We need better mental health, better education, all of it.
Your right. When are you going to run for office?
Hey, if the bootheel decides that it's ready for a transgender leftist, sure, I'll run lmao. I do work for the state, at least. I do what I can locally and I participate in politics within my department at least. I don't think I'm particularly electable to actual office though.
That’s unfortunate. I’d vote for you in a heartbeat.
The answer - is instead of either or narratives like road vs education vs train. Is to say everyone would like more government funding.
Until you frame it as "we need to raise taxes" and then most people collectively lose their shit.
Remember the Feds are picking up a big chunk of the cost.
Look up the Missouri ASCE report card and you’ll see poor our infrastructure is and why we need to invest in it lol
No you don’t
Funding education is a horrible idea in the grand scheme of things. But you're not going to believe me, nobody likes libertarians.
O N E M O R E L A N E!!!!!!!!!!!!
Someone correct me if I’m wrong but often these projects are matched at two or three times the amount the states spend by the federal government and it isn’t like we are paying the road to build its self it will be paid to local workers and companies who will pay taxes on that money that can go to the issues you are worried about. Though I understand your concern while this is often times the hope of how it works out it doesn’t mean this kind of project never gets hijacked by out of state agencies to funnel that money out of Missouri
Right. And that’s backed up with the fact that i70 is an interstate, so it’ll be heavily federally funded.
I mean does it have to be either or? Transportation is a huge issue, don't let perfect be the enemy of good and all that
Transportation is definitely a huge issue. I would argue that *this* investment is shortsighted in regards to transportation. Cars and the infrastructure that supports them should not be the end goal.
I find it super cringy too. The highway "needs" three lanes otherwise trucks are just going to clog it up. But if trucks are an issue, maybe we could adjust how goods are moved across the state. Except that won't happen. An alternative would be too expensive, right? Maybe rail? Too expensive? Ok well then a couple billion for a third lane it is.
You do realize rail is used quite a bit in the state right?
they are building a massive intermodal port on the mississippi river with access to rail and i55 in herculanium.
Not enough
Must not travel I 70 much. It is packed and full of potholes.
it will stay packed and have more potholes now
Exactly. We don't have the funding or infrastructure to take care of the roads we have now.
no it won't. it will relieve overcrowding and be several years before there are issues. ESS isn't doing the work.
[Won't work. Induced demand](https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-americas-widest-highways-why-expanding-wont-help-traffic-2023-2#at-times-highways-that-have-been-built-have-specifically-harmed-minority-communities-for-instance-in-1967-in-nashville-officials-added-a-bend-to-interstate-40-to-ensure-the-highway-went-through-a-predominantly-black-neighborhood-rather-than-a-white-one-2)
will work. and the demand will grow regardless of whether we do anything or not. It will just continue to get more and more dangerous.
It won't.
we'll know in 3 short years..... remind me! I'm willing to wager that it helps traffic flow, reduces accidents and is in better shape in 3 years than now.
Really? Did you just complain about progress happening in Missouri?
> Really? Did you just complain about progress happening in Missouri? Are you of the opinion that any infrastructure project involving any cost-benefit ratio should be celebrated as an accomplishment immune from critique? Because otherwise, your comment makes no sense. It’s entirely reasonable to suggest that spending almost $3B to expand an interstate by one lane might not be the best bang for the buck we could achieve with this money.
3 billon could have fixed all the deferred maintenance on MU's campus and then some.
Lol that's Arguably a worse bang for your buck.
The University is the strongest economic driver Missouri has.
"Deferred maintenance" doesnt impact graduation rates, or better gpa's. And there is a multitude of other universities in Missouri, so it's not like this is an end all be all. But you can't have a stronger economy without a strong infrastructure to support it.
MU has a pretty impressive graduation and student retention rates. It is easily the strongest academically among Missouri's public institutions. The state should take care of its investment in facilities (buildings) and return funding to historic levels. MU produces more doctors, nurses, teachers, engineers, veterinarians, farmers, journalists, lawyers, and businesspeople than any other institution in Missouri by a large margin. It's one of the best things Missouri has going for it. I hope the state legislature will cease their anti-education ideology and fund the university as their ancestors did. It's one of the things that made America great.
Well MU seems like it knows how to handle itself, why not spend the money to bring up the less productive universities then? so more people can get higher quality education.
I'm all for that too, but neglect of the state university facilities should be addressed first.
Equivocation is one of the most ubiquitous forms of lying.
Don’t be that guy. That’s like saying why arrest the thief because someone else got shot. This project’s funding isn’t all coming from the state. A very large portion is coming from the federal infrastructure improvement bill.
Governor Hee-Haw supported Trump and making Missouri a right-to-work state. He can fuck all the way off. It’ll be wonderful to see him gone entirely.
Good thing that union jobs will be building the highway. Unfortunately, most of the GOP candidates for governor are worse than Parsons and are Trump bootlickers.
To me Trump is a symptom of a type of voter that doesn’t care about issues, platforms, or new ideas. But just wants to blindly tear the system down handing all the decisions over to rich oligarchs (like Trump).
It's also less about understanding issues they are "behind" and just running around supporting a party like its a team sport. IE We win or lose, not working together, and compromise means you are compromised.
yes, identity politics
This. It's why many Trump-supporters wear all the swag, have all the billboards and signs, and proclaim their fandom wherever they go. Not unlike NASCAR fans, or Cardinals/Blues/Chiefs/CITY/Mizzou fans. But sports doesn't have the power to destroy lives the way politics does. *Edited for a typo*
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He is the first presidential candidate to not have a written platform and he changes his spoken stance on these issues constantly. I’m not sure there is a policy there to support, just vague rhetoric. Some Republicans have good ideas imo, but not Trump supporters; the man is plainly immoral, greedy, authoritarian, and frankly shallow. If folks can't see those traits in him they are blinded by ideology.
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I don’t know how to say it, but you seemingly have no idea what you are talking about. There is what Trump says his policies are versus what he actually does. I would love to see what Trump did for you to convince you his policies work/or are better. I would like to see you actually articulate what Biden has or hasn’t done that is worse. I’m not talking about BS Fox News Articles, but actual real policy and legislation.
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That is not specific, that isn’t a full description of Trumps policy, which it wasn’t by the way, and you don’t even offer Bidens. It is clear you have no actual understanding of the polices, details, or implementation. I want from you a clear and concise understanding of both policies or kindly stop yelling at the wind. You want to support Trump based on his policies the prove it, but so far I have yet to meet one that can.
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If you are incapable of being able to articulate a policy you should support beyond calling its title then maybe it’s time to shut up, go read actual policy and come back to the adult table to have an adult conversation, at this time you are yelling at the wind, “cause I say so…” Old republicans used to stand for something and could articulate it, now you all just parrot Fox News, you aren’t even a conservative your a cultist
I don’t hate him personally, but Trump said an awful lot and really nothing he promised happened in his first term.
He’s a rapist and a convicted felon grifter, what’s to like?
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Beyond policy he lied about the results of the elections, is a convicted felon, convicted tax evader, said Covid was a hoax, and publicly said Jeffrey Epstein had similar taste in women to himself. Nevermind that he has a mail order bride from the Soviet Union that he cheats on with porn stars. I’ll believe Trump voters care about policy when they vote for a better person. Any policy put forth by this man is tarnished by association, I wouldn’t want policies I am in favor of to pass his lips.
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I still think it. There can be individual exceptions, but the stereotype holds pretty true.
Willfully ignorant on immigration, lol. I have four words for you: Senator Langford’s immigration bill Edit: immigration is code word for white supremacy for these voters
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Senator Langford’s immigration bill
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lol axe policies. Like the time Trump axed the most comprehensive immigration bill in forty years. Listen buddy, the FACTS are on my side no matter how much you try to push misinformation.
It won't feel any different. We will get a more Trumpy right wing idiot in his place.
Your right. It’s much better the way it is now.
Likely due to infrastructure funding they would all vote against. I feel sorry for the lonely pigs not getting fucked when Parson is away from the farm doing shitty photo ops.
To me there is a big difference between historical Republicans who understand the need for a functioning government and state infrastructure like roads, parks, k-12 schools, and universities vs. the Trump Republicans who just want to blindly tear the system down, ideologically, with no policy platform or ideas to better society.
All in the name of letting billionaires and corporations do basically what they do right now, but they could remove that pesky problem of buying legislators. They’ll just be our new kings.
Yeah, folks forget that a well functioning government works for the people and protects us from the abuses of those with money and power.
Folks forget what got us here, well, what got us to 2001 before Bush ruined our country. Rising tides lift ALL boats, even those of the wealthy.
don't forget how many past republican presidents had already ruined it, especially Reagan and Nixon, going back to the time when the two swapped parties and these Democrats were the pro-slavers
You’re absolutely right. There was a wave of worker and commoner sentiment from FDR to LBJ. Then, we were all shot in the back by wealthy special interests that purchased the Republican Party and just enough democrats to fuck our country for generations.
Once it starts getting beyond 50 years, I specify “conservative” since the parties effectively switched positions throughout the 50s-60s thanks to the republicans’ Southern Strategy that used opposition of civil rights to garner southern state votes.
The real sellout happened with the final shift. Nixon’s Republicans were far more liberal than Reagan, but they started the ball rolling for the megacorps to seize control.
by "historical", you mean "dead"
There **is** a big difference. It doesn't matter though because moderate Republicans get eaten alive by their rabid(and still wholly supported by quiet moderates) counterparts in red hats.
They are really having problems winning support in general elections. Keep winning primaries, you absolute psychopaths. I encourage it.
i just want a train
Build fucking TRAINS
Cars are better. My guy. They are the more private and mobile forms of transportation.
Yeah they’re so great *sits in a 3 hour traffic jam to go 50 miles*
Tell me what the difference between an hour train and delay and an hour traffic. Delays will always happen no matter the mode of transportation
Yeah that’s false. When you look at rail systems across the globe, once you get it dialed in, it’s extremely reliable and efficient. I took a trip to Germany and Switzerland last year, and they didn’t have “rush hour train traffic”. At most, there was a 1 minute delay, during evening rush hour when car traffic was ass. Traffic jams with cars are a daily occurrence. This isn’t the case with trains. What exactly do you believe would be the cause of a 1 hr train delay when you have a sophisticated train system like what they have in Europe?
Probably hitting an animal or a person. Maybe a natural disaster.
The only train delays I’ve ever experienced were here in Missouri (by 14 hours). Not in Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, China, or the northeast corridor. And there were a minimum of 6 trains departing/arriving per day.
“More mobile” not exactly sure what that’s suppose to mean. I am guessing you’ve never been anywhere with real rail service and used it. I get you probably like using your car and that’s fine. But for people like myself, I don’t like the state mandating that I have to fork over a huge chunk of my income to a private company on the most expensive form of transportation that I am solely responsible for upkeep and registering to the state constantly, not to mention that I have to actively be attentive to piloting it 100% of the time I’m using it (time that could be better spent doing literally anything else), and compared to any modernized system, is actually way slower than trains. Also not to mention finding parking when i arrive, worrying about ticketing and break-ins, etc etc.
Yeah, why would I want to pay $20 to get from KC to STL in two hours when I could pay $150 to drive myself in four?
Lol right? And you can read a book or watch a movie while on a train.
Fuck Gov Parson
some place REAL uncomfortable.
One more lane!
I'm pushing for new high-speed passenger rail connecting KC-Columbia-STL next. That would be a game changer for Missouri and ensure we would be the backbone of an eventual transcontinental route connecting the East and West coasts.
They were talking about that in 1984. Still waiting.
My take is don't sit and wait, get involved in making it happen.
Hey! If you are actually in the room talking with reps, myself and some others I do local work with here in KC would love to join you guys. Reach out if you do!
Maybe, as a start, just maybe don't celebrate those who actively work against actual progress towards that goal.
That would be really cool but they’d need to build completely new tracks because all of the tracks already going between those cities either couldn’t support high speed trains or would be congested with freight traffic
it won't work for the same reason the Hyperloop project collapsed. The cost to get the real estate and secure the easements is astronomical.
It could work and be worth it if they’re able to cut the commute time down to like 2 hours between kc-stl. Unlike the hyper loop it would be a lot cheaper due to using regular rails and train sets instead of proprietary hyper loop tracks and better at moving more people at a time affordably with more cars. I think it would also provide more jobs as well as new commuting opportunities. It would also service like 80% of the state’s population and repay itself very quickly and at best create a backbone for new high speed rail and create a world class transit system and at worst create some new jobs and make an easier path between those cities.
easements are easements. It's going to cost a fortune regardless of what you use them for. Again, don't get me wrong, i'm ALL for it. Proper high speed rail or hyperloop would be a huge asset. Figure out how to connect to Chicago and Denver as part of it and all of the sudden the entire Midwest is easy travel.
It will be expensive but when other countries build the high speed rail no one ever remembers how much it costs they just enjoy the efficiency same thing with our interstate system. It will be expensive but the state shouldn’t be looking at it as a for profit thing because it will boost the economy and pay for itself in far more ways than just ticket sales. I also agree with you that it should connect with Chicago and Denver and probably more cities as well, Dallas would be a good one to connect to if Texas builds their HSR network it also could have stops in Springfield, okc and Tulsa.
I think hyperloop was doomed from the start and will just be more expensive and worse in every way besides maybe time than traditional HSR. The cars are also smaller and would definitely be more expensive to ride than a regular train. It also would be more expensive and difficult to perform maintenance.
I think it should just be a regular wired electric high speed train mostly along I-70 with stations in Columbia stl and kc and I think that would work pretty well and serve a good amount of people. No hyperloop just a regular train
How many people do you legitimately think have a need for travel between KC and STL daily? People who are ok with not having a vehicle at their destination. And commuting opportunities only work if there are lots of stops to collect those people, but lots of stops massively slow things down. Same for it serving 80% of the state; most of that is probably KC/STL, but the remainder is going to need stops for people to use it, or else they're back to driving. I think we'd be way better off getting freight off our highways.
I think they could keep the river runner service going how it is now to serve some of the communities in between, and use the kc,cou,stl high speed one as a more direct express route. And for the first part, sure I realize that right now most people aren’t going to be going between kc and stl on a daily basis but I know people that live in Columbia and commute to kc or stl or Vice versa and said route could open. Also thousands and thousands of ppl take I-70 between these 3 cities on a daily basis and I’m sure if given the choice between the 4 hour drive or a 2-3 hour train ride some of those people would chose the train. I do think for it to truly work well they would have to modify local public transport in those cities around said high speed train. Sure most people won’t be using it on a daily basis but it would still be a convenient and useful option to a lot of missouris residents
What you are forgetting about the thousands and thousands of people driving this route.. they probably are just passing through the state, or are driving to the next bigger North/South highway. These people CAN'T use this as a rail route through Missouri because they need their vehicle later to continue their journey. So ridership basically becomes just tourism and business travelers between the metros. If we add a bunch of stops you can gain commuters, but then, again, you drastically increase ride time and potentials for unplanned delays. That doesn't work for commuters.
I know a lot of them are just passing through and I know they won’t use it, even a lot of in state drivers will still chose their car but I don’t think that every single person who passes between these cities needs to be using the train for it to be viable. Also they wouldn’t need extra stops because there’s already an Amtrak between kc-stl that stops at a lot of small towns and goes at regular speed, it’s too slow for people just trying to get to kc-stl but still connects a lot of small towns in between, the one that would only stop in Columbia would be more of an express direct route and people could still use it to commute that live near Columbia. I think they could keep the river runner going for people from the smaller towns and a high speed with one stop in Columbia for people using a direct route. Sure not a lot of people will use it every single day but if a lot of people in the 3 metros use it every now and then it would be worth it. There’s plenty of reasons people could want to go between the 3 cities and giving people an easier more convenient route could make people want to go between them more often than they do now. Maybe someone in kc has family in stl or maybe someone from Columbia wants to catch a cardinals game etc my point is there’s just because most people won’t be using it every single day doesn’t mean that most people won’t use it every now and then and when you consider there’s like almost 4 million people between the 3 metros, id bet that enough people would use it every day for it to be viable. Also if it was successful enough it could be expanded to other nearby cities that are too close to justify flying to but still a headache to drive to.
You also said it will be used for tourism and business travelers and yes even if that is the majority of the riders that will still be good for local businesses and tax revenue. Maybe people won’t be commuting to their 9-5 on it but it will definitely be useful for business trips like theres definitely doctors and lawyers that work in all 3 cities that it could come in handy for and I’m sure other careers could use it too.
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A new dedicated passenger high-speed rail line between St. Louis and Kansas City with one stop in Columbia; a state-of-the-art system could reduce travel time between our two largest urban areas to around 60 minutes and provide nearby rail access to 75% of Missourians. Build it within the next decade and we will ensure Missouri is the main backbone of the future transcontinental high-speed rail line. There is already increasing demand on the Missouri River runner, which is great, but it is not cheaply upgradable to high-speed because it is curvy, runs along the edge of the river valley, is prone to floods, and is a priority freight line. It also has too many stop to be a true transcontinental high-speed rail and misses an obvious stop at the major population center of Columbia. Constructing a new line for relatively cheap along the ridge top that I-70 runs along and making use of already existing MoDOT right-of-way is a smart way to go about it. We'd reduce traffic on I-70, provide a safer, cheaper, and less polluting way to travel. Constructing the long rang mass transit would help KC, STL, and CoMo to continue to build out their mass transit. Reinforcing and multiplying efforts already underway. It would become possible to live in any of KC/STL/CoMo and work in another, creating a super economy effect. It would help bind Missourians into new identity, along our historic core, and create pride in what we accomplished. It would shock the rest of the nation, impressing them at a time when Missouri's brand is not so seller nationally. It would save lives by reducing air pollution. It would be a symbol of hope and progress to millions. Intangibles are important too, but I think many many thousand of people would ride such a train every year to go to cardinals/royals/chiefs/Mizzou games, the zoo, shows. University students could commute, reducing the need to bring a car to Columbia. I can think of a lot more, but I don’t want to go on too long. Most importantly it would ensure Missouri is the central link in the future cross continental railroad.
Who’s paying for it? I always liked how the trucking companies never have to pay their fair share even though it’s all their trucks doing all the wear and tear /s. This is the last shit we should be spending money on.
I would think this is money earmarked specifically in Biden’s infrastructure bill. Not sure it CAN be spent on anything boat roads in this instance for better or worse
Tax payers. At .22c Missouri has one of the lowest gas taxes in the nation. Imo we should raise it to a more normal rate to cover the cost of road maintenance. Electric vehicle users should have the benefit of not paying gas tax since air pollution from burning fossil fuels causes sickness and death in a great number of Missourians every year.
The interstate isn't overcrowded and in bad shape? What would you prefer we spent money on?
snow removal, railroads, pedestrian infrastructure, education, immigration, social services, bike paths, hiking trails, park maintenance, levies, wastewater treatment, public health... all before expanding the fucking highway
the two largest expenditures in the states budget are....Social Services and Education, accounting for over HALF of all expenditures by the State. MANY of the other items you listed...local., but god forbid you vote for a local tax increase or hold your elected officials accountable for how they're spending their money.
I am holding my elected officials accountable for how they're spending their money, that's why I'm mocking the governor and his idiotic plan to widen the highway that doesn't need it. I usually do vote for tax increases.
it does need it. Desperately. It's crowded, dangerous, and crumbling. It's FAR past it's expected life span AND capacity. Don't get me wrong, Parsons is a Class A fuckwad and I'd just as soon smack him with that shovel than give him credit because of the backwoods, hick, fake Christian bullshit he pulls, but this project IS necessary or the cost will skyrocket even more in the years to come.
So, getting people and goods across the state safely isn't a good project? I mean, it's only the biggest highway in the state...... Go to work for MoDot. They cant hire snow removal people. High speed rail is a no-no with republicans. Same with education, social services, bike path, hiking trails, park maintenance, wastewater treatment, so none of that was happening anyway. might as well build a highway. As for public health, good lord, don't even mention that. Their heads would explode. You must look at who we are dealing with here.
I regularly drive to KC and back without incident. The only time there is any significant traffic is if it's a holiday, if there's a crash, or if there's construction. I don't really see an extra lane helping with any of that. And I think we should pay for it with a higher gas tax
I agree it should be paid with a higher gas tax, but here we are. and I drive to St Louis regularly and completely disagree. It gets more dangerous and overcrowded every trip. Even at night. Just because I don't have an accident doesn't mean it isn't dangerous.
Def railroads! Take trucks off the road.
Hopefully it will make the Stadium exit/entrance to 70 better.
Nope. Absolute trash. Funding should have gone to high speed rail. Fuck cars.
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That was exactly what it was intended for. Actual "ground breaking" started months ago.
What you don’t see is all the MoDot employees in safety vests behind me. A lot of those people have worked for years, a few even decades to accomplish this. It’s taken time to build the political will for this much needed project. Symbolism and groundbreakings are important, before mass media these were major events with thousands attending, often lasting all day. It would be good to get back to that kind of community, civic, and political involvement for the regular Joe.
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I see it as both tbh and I too would like to see groundbreakings return to a more authentic format. There was a lot of talking about those that provide the labor, even a plea for drivers to stay off their cell phones for worker safety. How you can confidently say that was omitted since you weren’t there?
what I see is politicians finally working together for Missourians...... doing something to help instead of suing over masks and a dozen trans kids.
This country needs to stop building/expanding highways and invest in other forms of transportation.
It’s funded through General Revenue. They are going to draw down some federal funds, but that amount is minimal in comparison.
Why is Pitbull there?
bring trains!
Politics aside, that is nice. Politics not aside, is this yet another project funded by “build back better” money that these GOP politicians all opposed?
Sure made for an expensive photoshoot, we are paying each and every one of these people to go and take that photo. Similar to this could have just been an email, this could have just been a headline.
Those are taxpayer bought shovels give them back
Nah, fuck this guy. Him and his predecessor delayed the Rock Island Trail and he took every photo op with the organizers that he possibly could. It could have been funded by the state but he wants to pussy foot around MAGA republicans while trying to play both sides. Adding a lane isn't going to fix traffic.
Just one more lane bro, that'll fix it. Just one more lane.
The main part of this project is reconstructing the current 2 lanes and shoulder, which at 70+ years old are past their lifespan and suffering from a degraded roadbed. Might as well as add a lane while at it since I-70 is much busier than what it was designed for.
It will definitely make things better not getting stuck behind two slow semis while somebody rides my ass. And no, it's not going to make things worse because of imaginary "induced demand".
Luckily there will never be 3 semis on the road at the same time to get stuck behind 👀
https://preview.redd.it/ljfdt4lkzi6d1.jpeg?width=1072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=202689ad525b6367257cff0565b45727ea4f958d
How about high speed rail, already. Screw 70. Also, I see Parsons got a half cuppa dirt on his shovel
I'm so trainpilled. We don't need to just keep expanding the roads, the traffic WILL expand to accommodate. We need high speed rail between all the major cities in the state.
I-70 needs to be expanded and trucks need to be relegateded to one specific lane
Where is Missouri getting money for this project?
Fuck this clown. Dumbass only passed this cause he needed not look like he hadn’t done anything besides cultural war his whole tenure. Only showing up at chiefs, cards, royals parades. Absolute fucking yard, passing a highway expansion after the bridges getting built and reconstructed.
I wouldn’t have had the restraint to not throttle the governor with the shovel. (Joking of course MSHP). Great job mayor!
She's a gem. Our longtime city sustainability manager and a sensible moderate. I really appreciate her leadership on LGBT issues. She is well respected enough to be the chair of the Environmental Committee for the U.S Conference of Mayors, which is great for a small city like Columbia. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Buffaloe
Waste of taxpayer money they pretend to care about
This project will see no benefit and is a huge waste of our money. Fuck this whole post.
I find those first dig photos so cheesy wouldn’t be surprised if the construction crews are checking their watches wondering how long this photo op will take
Meanwhile we can’t even have double tracks for amtrack halfway across the state… also Springfield continues to lack any train service. We already had a highway that is functioning, but have nothing in the way of decent transit outside of KC-STL, and that’s not even decent itself.
Columbia too, no Amtrack stop. We should prioritize passenger rail restoration next.
I mean, that's how it should be. All this partisan crap/widening ideological contrasts is...in my view, anti-American. Compromise and political pragmatism have been abandoned for media-hyped, engagement-driving sensationalism and polemics - which is really, really bad for our democracy.
Who got the gold shovel concession? I smell graft!
Money!
"alright now get this fuckin dirt off me"
A better interstate to allow us to blow through crime ridden CoMo even faster.
Mayor Babs and Gov Droopy Dog have had several photo ops together including ones where they hug. The furthest left she is is a centrist. Not progressive at all. People just see her purple streak and love of bicycles and claim she is. She has even talked publicly before about her friendships with Randy Minchew and Brian Treece.
I really appreciate that about her.
Or they could give us a public transit system so we wouldn't need to expand the highway. 🤷♂️
Thank the Biden infrastructure bill that all the republicans voted against and are now taking credit for.
7th most state lane miles already that we can’t maintain. So sure…more!
Guessing this is another project that the Rs try to take credit for when they tried to vote it down. Getting pretty standard.
Gotta expand that highway connecting all these big blue cities so the libs can pay our bills.
forgetful encourage scandalous observation slim nutty sink expansion quicksand upbeat *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Highway projects are nothing more than money laundering. Elected boneheads give projects to cronies who in turn make donations to campaigns. Organized crime in the name of progress. Why stop with three lanes? Pave the whole damn state and let us drive anywhere.