By Maria Hickey, KWMU
St. Louis, MO. – The U.S. transportation secretary was in St. Louis Tuesday to announce a proposed new way of distributing federal dollars for road projects.
Transportation Secretary Mary Peters says the Bush administration wants to do away with earmarks to fund highways, bridges, and transit systems.
Instead she says projects would be determined with a cost benefit analysis.
Peters says the current system takes too long to fund good highway projects like improvements to I-64.
"Without real reform to the nation's transportation programs, good projects like this one will languish too long without the funds or without the clearance to move these important projects forward," Peters said.
Missouri highway officials who attended the press conference said they would like to add a truck lane on I-70.
Peters say that's something federal officials are considering all along the corridor.