32 Road Construction Projects Approved

Intro: 39 Million dollars worth of stimulus funded transportation projects was approved Wednesday.

Max Reiss has more from Jefferson City.

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The state's transportation head says there are now thirty-six construction projects funded by the federal stimulus either underway or approved around the state.

The Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission approved thirty two construction projects worth just less than forty million dollars.

MODOT Director Pete Rahn says most projects can't start immediately which means new jobs will have to wait.

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Description: "A lot of these projects, you won't see dirt moving until sometime in April would be a good guess as far as when, when does the ground warm up enough to repave."

The state received just less than six hundred forty million dollars specifically for transportation spending.

Reporting from the State Capitol, Max Reiss, Newsradio 1120 KMOX.

Intro: MODOT's director says he needs to worry about more than just the city of St. Louis when deciding on where to spend federal stimulus dollars.

Max Reiss has more from the State Capitol.

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Pete Rahn says he knew it was coming.

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Description: "I have far more people mad at me right now than are happy."

The MODOT director says he is distributing all transportation stimulus funds equally.

Rahn says he understands St. Louis' needs but his job covers more than just one city.

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Description: "The issue that's been raised by the mayor and of course I point out that he represents 300,000 people and we're trying to address the, you know, 6 million people of the state."

The St. Louis area was allocated more than fifty eight million dollars in stimulus money for road construction.

The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission approved thirty nine million dollars worth of statewide road projects Wednesday.

Reporting from the State Capitol, Max Reiss, Newsradio 1120 KMOX.

Intro: The state's transportation head says the St. Louis Metro Area is getting it's fair share of federal stimulus dollars for road construction. RunTime:0:29
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MODOT Director Pete Rahn says there are only so much stimulus funds to give out.

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Description: "There is not enough money within the stimulus project to come anywhere near the public's expectation of what this funding. . . is all about."

The St. Louis area will see a little less than fifty-nine million dollars for transportation projects which was mandated in the federal stimulus bill signed by the president three weeks ago.

That cash comes from a pot of money specifically allocated for the state's three most trafficked areas which include Kansas City and Springfield.

The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission approved thirty nine million dollars in statewide road construction projects Wednesday.

Reporting from the State Capitol, Max Reiss, Newsradio 1120, KMOX.