Contact: Rob Ostrander 202.224.7627 Shana Stribling 202.224.0309
Friday, May 20, 2005

KANSAS CITY, MO U.S. Senator Kit Bond today joined regional business and civic leaders and Missouri transportation officials to pledge his support for Kansas City’s Paseo Bridge and to provide an update on the U.S. Senate passage of the federal highway bill.

“It is no secret that a new bridge crossing over the Missouri River is desperately needed to connect Kansas City to North Kansas City and the rest of Clay County,” said Bond. “With my position as Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure and as Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, I will work to secure the necessary funding for this project. I look forward to working with Missouri transportation officials in a cooperative manner to make this much needed project a reality for the Kansas City Region in the not too distant future.”

Bond pointed out that the existing four lane structure is currently closed due to serious structural deficiencies. A new Paseo Bridge will not only improve traffic capacity coming across the river in and out of downtown Kansas City, but will also help stimulate economic development downtown and in the central business district.

Currently the Missouri Department of Transportation (MODOT) is working on an Environmental Impact Study (EIS) and a determination of the river bridge type for the Paseo Bridge project. MODOT anticipates a decision by 2006 and Bond expressed his optimism for the project moving forward.

Bond also provided the regional leaders and officials an update on the federal highway bill, which passed the U.S. Senate earlier this week. Bond has led the fight in the Senate to reauthorize a new six-year transportation bill and last week worked with other Senators to boost the bill’s funding to $295 billion, up from $284 billion.

The increased funding level will result in more than $200 million in new dollars each year for Missouri. Under the bill, Missouri will receive $865 million each year, up from $661 million in the last transportation bill.

For years, Bond has fought to increase the return on the dollar that Missourians pay in federal transportation taxes. In the bill passed today, Bond has successfully fought to increase Missouri’s share to almost 98 cents on the dollar. In 1987, when Bond joined the Senate, Missourians received 76 cents on the dollar.

“Passage of this bill brings us one step closer in our efforts to increase safety, reduce fatalities and decrease congestion on Missouri highways,” said Bond. “This bill will also create more high paying jobs across Missouri and the nation as a whole.”