SEMPO Updates

News and Information for July 2020

A Message from the Executive Director

With our current surface transportation funding act (FAST Act) expiring September 30, 2020, it is vital that congress approve new legislation that will continue the progress our nation has made in transportation infrastructure investments. What this will look like and how much investment we will see is still up for debate.

On July 1, the House of Representatives passed its version of infrastructure legislation, the Moving Forward Act (H.R.2). The legislation provides over $1.5 trillion in federal spending (carving out $494 billion for reauthorization of surface transportation programs) across a range of infrastructure areas including transportation, aviation, water, broadband, healthcare, and energy.  The Moving Forward Act incorporates policy initiatives from the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s “Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation in America Act” (or INVEST in America Act), passed earlier in June. The initiative, however, is anticipated to fail in the Senate having only been approved through the House by majority Democratic support. Senate Committees continue to work both publicly and behind the scenes on their version of an infrastructure package, which is seen as likely to include surface transportation reauthorization.

We may see a legislative package arise in the Senate before the August recess, but this seems highly unlikely given the August 10 recess date. The Senate will reconvene after Labor Day. Hopefully the Senate is able to make progress on their version of legislation in the near future and compromises are made for a bipartisan product that will provide stability in our transportation investments.  So buckle up as we navigate this legislative process. And Buckle Up, Phone Down!

 - Alex McElroy

ADA Pedestrian Transportation System Condition Assessment

The BIG news is that the field data collection portion of the project with our interns is now complete! Lochmueller Group is now wrapping up the quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) process as well. The next task at hand will be to analyze all of the information gathered and begin to translate that information into plans for our communities.

Southeast District Crash Data

In 2019, there were 921 Missouri roadway fatalities that occurred. The 5 year trend has, unfortunately, been moving upward. Year to date in 2020, there have been 415 fatalities on Missouri roadways compared to 369 a year ago at this same time. Although, we experienced a decrease in traffic volume during this pandemic, our fatalities are up. In the Southeast region, so far this year, fatalities have risen 31%. Currently, there have been 55 fatalities compared to 42 last year. When discussed during our quarterly Coalition for Roadway Safety meeting, it was speculated the higher number of fatal crashes may be due to more open roads enticing people to travel at higher speeds.

Changes in Traffic Due to COVID-19

We continue to experience a decline in statewide traffic volume for both passenger and commercial activity as compared to 2019. From July 1 to July 25 we experienced an average statewide decline of passenger traffic of -12% and -3% of commercial traffic. However, these numbers do appear to be gradually improving as we continue to cautiously open our economy. For context, from March 15 to June 30, passenger traffic experienced, on average, a decrease of -27% and commercial traffic -8% as compared to 2019.

Strategic Highway Safety Plan

On July 7, we held our quarterly meeting for the Southeast Coalition for Roadway Safety (SCRS).  A still evolving draft copy of the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety (MCRS) 2020 Update to the Strategic Highway Safety Plan was provided to Coalition members for review. Certain elements of the document are still being drafted but the core direction is ready for review and any feedback is welcomed. "Show Me Zero" highlights four Emphasis Areas of Safety: 1- Occupant Protection 2- Distracted Driving 3- Speed and Aggressive Driving 4- Impaired Driving. 

Center Junction DDI Project

Let's talk about Diverging Diamonds as we all anticipate our new bridge and gateway from Cape to Jackson and vice versa! The video below contains a great explanation of why Diverging Diamond Intersections help with traffic flow and safety.  It may also give you a couple chuckles as the Springfield, MO narrator shares his thoughts. 

Also, click on the button below (and scroll down on the site) to see MoDOT's Jason Williams' video that provides a great visual update on our local project. The project remains on schedule and MoDOT anticipates opening the south bound bridge on I-55 to traffic by the end of 2020 which will allow them to shift traffic over to the new bridge and allow the contractor to begin replacing the north bound bridge. The entire project is still anticipated to be complete by the end of 2021.

Transportation Quote

“Some beautiful paths can't be discovered without getting lost.”

― Erol Ozan