St. Charles County Transportation Plan 2030 - East-West Gateway ...

A. Background
V. Present Transportation Plans and Studies
The 1997 transportation plan for St. Charles County mentioned short and long range plans and other
studies by the Council that would affect future transportation in the county. This update is no
exception. Since 1997 the Council has completed many plans and studies in keeping with the
requirements of the U.S. Department of Transportation for the expenditure of federal funds. First
and most important is the region’s long range transportation plan which requires updating every four
years. The second is the short range transportation plan which is represented by the TIP and consists
of projects planned by various agencies for the next four years. These projects reflect what is
contained in the long range transportation plan. Other studies have been conducted by the Council
relating to transportation in the county. A review of these plans and studies follows.
B. The Long Range Transportation Plan
In March 2005 the Council published its long range transportation plan “Legacy 2030, The
Transportation Plan for the Gateway Region.” It provides a long range view of how the region’s
surface transportation system will develop over the next 25 years and follows earlier practices of
emphasizing the relationship of transportation, community vitality, environmental quality, economic
growth, and social equity. It is the foundation of the transportation planning process and details the
region’s transportation priorities by creating a guide for future transportation investments. As
explained in the document, “The plan’s fundamental purpose is to ensure that public resources are
used in ways that best meet the economic, community, and environmental needs of the St. Louis
region.” The Plan and the TIP, described below, were developed according to the rules of the new
Federal Transportation Bill, SAFETEA-LU, which was passed in August 2005. The Council is
presently developing an update that is scheduled for release by July 1, 2007.
B-1. Developing Future Highway Improvements
Legacy 2030 discussed the need for establishing policies and principals for how to decide the best
use of federal funds for highway improvements. In addition, the Plan established an investment
strategy that sets priorities for committing these funds. Since all projects must first be identified in
the Plan to be eligible for federal funds, a list of MoDOT projects through the horizon year 2030 was
developed. This could not be a simple “wish list” of projects but a list that MoDOT has reasonable
expectations of funding within the 2030 Long Range Plan time frame. Three categories of projects
are listed below in chronological order.
B-2. Investment Priorities
A number of other major highway improvements are planned by MoDOT in St. Charles County.
They are listed in Table 6.7 of Legacy 2030 as “Investment Priorities,” which means they can be
funded within the region’s financial constraint. They are listed below by specific time periods.
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