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COLUMBIA, MO. -- Mid-Missourians have a chance to speak out on the possibility of making Interstate 70 a toll road.

Columbia State Representatives Chris Kelly and Stephen Weber will sponsor a public forum titled…Toll roads in Missouri: Will they work, will they fly, is there a choice?

Central Missouri Development Council Executive Director Don Stamper said, “Representative Kelly contacted us.  This is really his initiative.  He thought there ought to be a public debate and a public discussion of the idea of toll roads.  We helped him secure a person who is very experienced and knowledgeable of toll roads for the discussion.  I think it’s a great community discussion.  It’s the way government ought to work.”

Panelists will include the Director of the Missouri Department of Transportation Kevin Keith and the Vice-Chair of the House Appropriations Committee for Transportation Representative Tom Long.

Kelly said something must be done to pay for upgrading and maintaining Missouri’s aging infrastructure.

Organizers of the event said toll roads are one option, but they are not an option on which everyone agrees.

Stamper said, “There is a lot of interest in the community.  There is a lot of curiosity.  This is the place where they can get those questions answered.”

Since 1970, Missouri voters have twice rejected constitutional amendments allowing state toll roads and bridges.

MoDOT Director Kevin Keith said rebuilding Interstate 70 with tolls does not require a public vote.
Private business owners could fund the project and collect tolls to cover their investments.

Stamper said, “There are pluses and minuses.  It may or may not be the thing to do for the State of Missouri, but we won’t ever know if we don’t have the debate and have the discussion about the idea.”

You can give your opinion on Missouri toll roads at 7 p.m. tonight at Columbia’s ARC, across the street from the Broadway Gerbes Supermarket.