States ramp up attempt to agree
Efforts between Missouri and Illinois officials to resolve their differences over a new Mississippi River bridge have intensified, with sources saying progress has been made in resolving differences between the two states.
At the urging of Gov. Matt Blunt, leaders from Missouri met Thursday in St. Louis. Among them were Blunt, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, Sen. Christopher “Kit” Bond, R-Mo., St. Louis County Executive Charlie A. Dooley and St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlmann. Staff members for Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., attended, as did local business and political leaders.
On Monday, representatives from Blunt’s office and that of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich met. No one at either meeting would discuss what occurred, but a source close to the matter said significant progress was made Monday toward a deal and that further meetings were planned.
Sources said the subject of the talks is a $1 billion, eight-lane bridge of the sort that Missouri has backed, rather than a smaller-scale companion to the Martin Luther King Bridge. The recent spate of activity suggests that Missouri leaders could be looking beyond tolls — which Illinois opposes — as a funding solution for a new bridge.
Bond’s presence at last week’s meeting appeared to signal a more hands-on approach for the senator, who has not taken part personally in most of the previous meetings. A senior Senate appropriator, Bond has previously said he would focus on getting federal money for the bridge but that the final plans needed to be worked out by state officials.
Shana Marchio, Bond’s spokeswoman, said that stance hasn’t changed. “His position has been and still is that the two states need to determine how to move forward. … Ultimately, the decisions will be made by Blunt and Blagojevich, the Missouri Department of Transportation and the Illinois Department of Transportation,” she said.
Missouri and Illinois leaders agree that a new crossing between downtown and the Metro East area is needed, but they’ve been at an impasse for 18 months over how to pay for it and how big it should be.
Missouri officials have argued that they lack the money for a $1 billion, eight-lane span and want to charge tolls to cover construction. Illinois officials say they oppose tolls, since Illinois commuters would mostly be paying.
This year, the Illinois Department of Transportation began pushing Missouri on a different proposal — a four-lane companion bridge to the existing Martin Luther King Bridge estimated at $525 million to $550 million. Missouri officials say the concept isn’t a long-term solution to traffic problems.
Congress has approved $239 million in federal money for a new crossing — if the two states can agree on how to come up with the rest.
Jessica Robinson, Blunt’s press secretary, said Tuesday that Blunt had called Thursday’s meeting “so the key shareholders could sit down and discuss the Mississippi River bridge,” and also directed his chief of staff to meet privately on Monday with Blagejovich’s staff to work out differences.
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