By Chris OrletRecord Managing EditorState and local officials are prioritizing transportation goals in the event a 1-cent sales tax is approved by Missouri voters this November.Missouri lawmakers are considering legislation authorizing the sales tax dedicated to transportation which, if approved, would go on the statewide ballot in November.The tax would need to be reapproved by voters after 10 years to remain in effect. Ten percent of funds raised by the sales tax would go toward local transportation projects.A similar transportation sales tax bill died last year in the General Assembly.Transportation officials are identifying needs and specific projects across the state that need to be addressed.One step of that process occurred Tuesday evening during a public meeting held by the Boonslick Regional Transportation Planning Commission and the Missouri Department of Transportation.Seventeen people — mostly city and county officials — attended the meeting at the Warren County Administration Building where they heard from MoDOT spokesman Jeff Glenn. Glenn explained that MoDOT must develop a list of priorities in the event that the sales tax passes.The first step is getting input from the public. Those who could not attend Tuesday’s meeting can still suggest projects at the Boonslick RPC website at boonslick.org, and click on the survey link in the center of the home page.Glenn stressed that the more people who engage in the process, the more credible the process will be.Glenn said that even if the sales tax fails to get on the ballot, the exercise of prioritizing transportation projects is a useful one.“In some ways, it is even more important to prioritize if you have less money,” he said.Last year, the Boonslick RPC went through a similar process of prioritizing transportation projects, but that list was limited to road and bridge projects. The latest sales tax proposals are more expansive and include river ports, airports, bike trails, mass transit, rural transit and more.Glenn said proposed projects must fall under one or more of the four priorities established last year by MoDOT and the public. These are: maintenance of roads and bridges; safety; economic development; and connections and choices.After projects are prioritized at the tri-county level, the next step is the northeast district level. After that, the list of priorities go to MoDOT’s chief engineer, who presents them to The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission, the six-member bipartisan board that governs MoDOT for a final decision. Glenn said that final list will go before the public in August.Glenn reminded those in attendance that transportation is a statewide issue. “There are local pieces, but they have to fit into a statewide plan,” he said.Warren County Commissioner Dan Hampson asked if a railroad spur could be considered under the list of priorities.“Absolutely. While it wouldn’t be considered a public transportation item, it would fall under economic development,” said Glenn.Warren County Commissioner Hubie Kluesner asked about a river port in cooperation with surrounding counties, like Montgomery and Franklin.“This is something we’ve talked about for years. It would be a lot more efficient to move grain by barge than by truck,” he said.“That would be tricky, because they are in different MoDOT districts,” said Glenn. “But it can be done.”Glenn said Interstates 70 and 44 were in rough shape. “They have outlived their lifespans by a number of years,” he said. “Think about the trucks on those roads. When those highways were built in the ’50s and ’60s they weren’t built for such enormous trucks.”Warren County Presiding Commissioner Arden Engelage worried that local prioritize might get watered down as the process moves from the tri-county area, to the district level.“When you get farther out the needs begin to change,” he said. “That’ll be the trick. We’re all scrambling for the same dollars.”Glenn reiterated the importance of increased funding for transportation.“MoDOT’s construction budget will drop to $585 million next budget year from this year’s $685 million.By 2017 funding will drop to $325 million, a level far short of maintaining Missouri’s highways and bridges.Transportation officials said Tuesday the 1-cent tax increase could generate $8 billion over the next decade.State, local officials ask public to prioritize transporation projects