Urgent: OOIDA Call to Action - Missouri Members
May 12, 2006

Urgent: Missouri truckers! Legislation scheduled for vote today on the floor of the Missouri House would allow tolls on a proposed Interstate 70 bridge across the Mississippi River between Illinois and Missouri. It is vital you contact your state representative as soon as possible and ask that they vote no.

Missouri already has been given approval by the federal government to toll existing interstate facilities - such as Interstate 70 - that cannot otherwise be adequately maintained or improved. This effort, which conveniently skirts the state's constitutional requirement for a statewide vote on tolling, is the first step by state lawmakers to take advantage of that permission.

Let your representative know this is nothing more than a back door way of putting the state's highways and bridges up for sale to the highest bidder. And that it is inappropriate for lawmakers to do that, especially without allowing for more statewide discussion among all Missouri citizens.

Communicate to your representative that this effort also raises concerns that the state is willing to give control of vital infrastructure to a private business and especially a foreign business. Also, highways and bridges should be maintained and built with existing highway funds. Instead, lawmakers should make sure that revenues that are diverted to other areas right now be used for the bridge construction.

The new bridge is expected to relieve traffic on the Poplar Street Bridge, which carries traffic from Interstates 55, 64 and 70. More than 120,000 vehicles cross the bridge daily.

The toll bridge effort is included in two bills - HB1380 and SB938. Either bill could be brought up today for final approval. Lawmakers must reach agreement on one version before the end of the day to send it to Gov. Matt Blunt's desk.

To contact your House lawmaker, visit http://www.senate.mo.gov/llookup/leg_lookup.aspx. You can also call OOIDA's Membership Department at 1-800-444-5791 and they'll look it up.