Missouri Department of Transportation Partnership
One of the key roles of the Northeast Regional Planning Commission is our partnership with the Missouri Department of Transportation, a working relationship that dates back to the early 1990s with the implementation of the federal Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act, which expanded the transportation planning process to now include a broad range of voices including city and county elected officials, business and industry leaders as well as at-large members of the public. All of this comes together in the form of the Transportation Advisory Council (TAC). The NEMO RPC TAC continues to meet quarterly to work with MoDOT on prioritizing transportation needs in the six counties. The 2019-20 fiscal year saw some movement on one of those key fronts as progress was made on MoDOT’s high priority unfunded road and bridge needs list, where the region has two projects listed: raising the road at Alexandria and improving safety on Highway 15. The unfunded needs list is basically MoDOT’s “on-deck circle” with projects in a holding pattern awaiting funding.
Work began in the summer of 2020 to widen Highway 15 and add shoulders and rumble strips. Two-foot shoulders and safety strips were added on Highway 15 from the Iowa State line to Memphis. Plans are to do similar work from Memphis to Edina in Knox County and then from Edina to Shelbyville in Shelby County in the next few years.
The estimated $4.5 million project to address road closures due to flooding in Clark County still remains a top priority of the TAC as part of the estimated $850 million in unfunded needs MoDOT is seeking to address.
Northeast Missouri Regional Transportation Advisory Council (TAC)
The Northeast Missouri Regional Transportation Advisory Council (TAC) is composed of eighteen (18) members representing county government, city government, transportation corridor groups, other transportation partners, and the Missouri Department of Transportation. There are three (3) members in each county and they are appointed by the resident County Commissioners.
The TAC incorporates local communities into the statewide transportation process by accepting responsibilities such as attending and participating in quarterly meetings; understanding the scope of work to be accomplished by the TAC and the Northeast Missouri Regional Planning Commission/Rural Development Corporation; understanding the planning framework process and how the TAC’s involvement is incorporated into the process; providing input on transportation needs in our counties and communities; distributing information to communities and residents; prioritizing transportation needs for the region; prioritizing multi-modal transportation projects for the region; and as always by providing ideas to the NEMO RPC/RDC staff on ways to improve the planning process and TAC meetings.
Year after year, NEMO RPC/RDC banks on the TAC to submit local transportation needs to the agency at TAC meetings which are then prioritized by the committee as a whole. This process is ever-changing. This list of needs is then submitted to our local MoDOT district office by March of the fiscal year.
The NEMO RPC TAC annually compiles a ranking list of transportation needs in the six-county region which is submitted to MoDOT for consideration of the proposed projects when the transportation department builds the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) five-year plan for MoDOT construction projects. The 18 TAC members each assign priority rankings to the roughly 30-40 projects, which are then compiled into a final needs list ranking that is submitted to MoDOT for consideration.
Current TAC Members
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Mark Shahan (county)
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Mari Macomber (municipalities)
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Harold Osborn (at-large)
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Steven Krueger (county)
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Wayne Blum (municipalities)
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Henry Dienst (at-large)
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Leslie Cardwell (county)
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Alexandra Reel (municipalities)
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Ronnie Leckbee (at-large)
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Wayne Murphy Jr. (county)
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Deanne Whiston (municipalities)
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Travis Fleer (at-large)
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Jim Werner (county)
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Vacant (municipalities)
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Jeff Lindquist (at-large)
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Duane Ebeling (county)
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Jenny Aldridge (municipalities)
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David Wiggins (at-large)