The federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was approved Friday, Nov. 5 by the U.S. House of Representatives.

Once enacted by the President's signature, the IIJA provides a five-year reauthorization of federal highway, highway safety, transit and rail programs for Fiscal Years 2022 through 2026.

It represents a historic investment in all forms of infrastructure, with $567 billion in Highway Trust Fund and General Fund resources provided to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

IIJA represents approximately a 25% increase in federal funding levels over FAST Act levels and introduces new formula programs for bridge investment and electric vehicle charging stations.

Northeast District Transportation Project Manager Keith Killen was awarded the President’s Transportation Award at the annual AASHTO meeting on Oct. 29.

This award is given to an employee who provides exemplary service during the year, furthering the transportation activities of their member department or committee which has, or potentially could have, a salutary impact on transportation nationwide or on a regional basis. 

The completed Route 54 Mississippi River Bridge at Louisiana, known as the Champ Clark Bridge, has recently received some significant national awards. Leaders from Massman Construction discussed the awards at the Nov. 3 Commission meeting in Kansas City.

This year, MoDOT celebrated Veterans Day virtually with this collaborative video message:

Thank you again to all our employees who serve, have served or who have family members who serve.

Last week, Gov. Parson signed Executive Order 21-11, closing state offices on Friday, Nov. 26.

“During the holiday season, our family has a tradition of giving thanks for all we have been blessed with, and we are so thankful for all of you – our state team members,” Parson said. “While we can never thank you enough for your hard work and dedication to Missourians, we hope the extended holiday weekend will provide us all the opportunity to count our blessings and remember the good in our lives.”

The new application that develops the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), MoDOT’s rolling 5-year commitment to the public for planned work, is here! 

The STIP Information Management System (SIMS) is housed inside TMS and is used to develop the STIP each year. 

The new system features enhanced functionality to improve results tracking and reporting based on asset management plans, provide automation to manual processes and be much more user-friendly. 

The SIMS team will be pushing the application to production this weekend, and it will be available in TMS on Monday, Nov. 15. For users that have TMS access, the SIMS application can be accessed from the TMS home page. 

For any questions on the new application, please contact the TMS Help Desk:

• 573-522-8464 (Deann Wieberg)
• 573-526-8055 (Valerie Minnick)
• TMSSupport@modot.mo.gov

A scheduled rehabilitation of the Sorrels Overpass along Interstate 70 west of Columbia was put on the fast track after an October 18 incident in which a passing truck did significant damage to the bridge.

“Demolition of the bridge was necessary, due to the damage sustained on October 18”, said MoDOT Resident Engineer Dan Oesch. “In the interest of safety for motorists who use the overpass and I-70, it was determined that demolition was the best plan of action.”

On October 22, an emergency bid process resulted in a contract for the demolition, as well as the construction of a new bridge, awarded to Emery Sapp and Sons, Inc. (ESS). Part of the contract was the stipulation that the current bridge be demolished by Monday, Nov. 8.

ESS began taking down the bridge on Friday, Nov. 5, utilizing single lane closures and occasional full eastbound or westbound rolling road blocks. The work was completed successfully and ahead of schedule by the following afternoon, clearing all delays and closures for the remainder of the weekend.

“We’re thankful for the public’s patience and understanding as this work was completed over the weekend,” says Oesch. “With a Chiefs’ home game on Sunday and several other events in communities along I-70, we wanted to get this completed as soon as possible. The contractor did a great job getting the job done while limiting traffic impacts as much as possible with this kind of project.”

Replacement of the overpass is tentatively scheduled to begin in January 2022, and be completed in March. Keep up with the project and any updates by visiting modot.org/sorrelsoverpass.

“I could go on all day bragging about how proud I am of him and all of his accomplishments,” Southwest District Senior Human Resources Specialist Shay Medley said about her son, Will Wehmer.

Will received a regional Emmy Award from the Mid-America Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for a story he did as part of a high school journalism class called “Shattered.” It was about a 2012 airplane crash in Springfield that killed five people, including three children, returning home from a Kansas City Royals baseball game. The story

focused on the children’s mother and her struggle to put her life back together.

Watch that story here.

That story sparked Will’s interest in journalism. He applied for and received the Walter Cronkite Scholarship given in recognition of outstanding journalism by a high school student.

“I knew after covering that story that I had touched a life by telling a story,” said Will, “and I wanted to continue to do that for the rest of my life.”

Will is now attending the University of Missouri to get his journalism degree. After graduation, he plans to attend law school to pursue a career in media and corporate law.

The Southeast District recently celebrated employees and their years of service. The district’s longest serving employee is Senior Maintenance Worker Tommy Woods from the Cape Girardeau maintenance facility with 35 years of service.

Woods has also worked in the Marble Hill, Patton and Jackson facilities. He has also served as a mechanic.

Admittedly, he has seen a lot of changes at MoDOT over the years. But when asked what he loves most about coming to work, his answer was easy! After 35 years, Woods enjoys working at MoDOT because of his coworkers. Woods explained his work group is like family to him.

The Southeast District also recognized the following employees for 30 years of service:

* Brian Frazier, Senior Materials Inspector

* Ed Hess, District Bridge Engineer

* Gary King, Maintenance Crew Leader (Retired)

* Jeffrey Byrge, Senior Maintenance Worker

* John McDowell, Maintenance Supervisor

* Richard Elijah, Maintenance Supervisor (Retired)

* Shannon Inman, Senior Materials Inspector

* Shelly Cauldwell, Senior Administrative Technician

To watch the videos shared during this year’s virtual ceremony, please visit the following links: 5 Years, 15 Years, 20 Years, and 25, 30 and 35 Years.

This Good Catch comes out of Central District in September.

An employee was involved in mowing duties with a tractor and brush hog. While stopped at an intersection and looking both ways for traffic, the employee observed a yellow chevron sign was causing a site distance concern. After the employee discussed the concern with the crew leader, they spoke with an engineer and it was determined the sign location should be changed for better site distance.

Result: Taking a little bit of time to bring up a concern helped to improve site distance at an intersection. GOOD CATCH!!

You still have time to earn your $100 gift card. Act now before the Nov. 30 deadline. 

Option 1: Ready, Set, Go

Complete three simple steps before Nov. 30 and you will receive $100. 

1. Receive an annual exam. 
2. Complete the online health assessment. 
3. Complete a Walker Tracker challenge. 

Option 2: Above and Beyond in 2021

MoDOT & MSHP employees enrolled in an Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield medical plan are eligible to earn more. Employees must track their qualifying activities by Nov. 30, 2021.

• Complete any of the qualifying activities to earn an entry into a general random drawing. One activity equals one entry. There are 150 chances to win exciting prizes, including Yeti tumblers, fitness equipment, backpacks, gym bags, water bottles and more.  
• Complete 10 or more qualifying activities and you’ll be entered into the grand prize random drawing. There are 50 chances to win exciting prizes, including a Cubi under desk elliptical, AirPods, AfterShokzs, FitBit and more.  

You must track all of your activities and keep proof of completion throughout the year. You will complete a survey in November to submit your activities and earn your random drawing entries. 

If you have any questions about the It Pays to be Well incentive program, contact your Wellness Champion.

The Census Bureau has updated its Decennial Census and American Community Survey data retrieval tools with a new, easy-to-use site, data.census.gov.

A webinar to show some of the features is scheduled for Nov. 23 from 10 - 11 a.m.

This session will explore the new site, examine its features and learn how to access the data including the new 2020 Census data. It will also look at the Missouri Census Data Center harvesting tools to get more Missouri-centric data. You can register here.