Thursday, April 17, 2008

MoDOT Offers New Airport Directory And Travel Guide

JEFFERSON CITY - The 2008-2009 Missouri Airport Directory and Travel Guide produced by the Missouri Department of Transportation is now available to the public. The directory is a flight-planning tool that provides facility information to pilots and users of Missouri's public-use airports.

This new directory has five-inch square aerial photos of each airport with expanded facility information such as runway length, communication frequencies, lighting and navigational aids, and fuel availability. The directory also includes a section highlighting local restaurants and attractions near each airport. An addition to the new directory is a limited list of Missouri's private airports.

The directory is provided free-of-charge. Funding for this and all state aviation programs comes from aviation fuel taxes and not from general revenue or highway funds.

Directories are available at most local airports in Missouri, by contacting MoDOT's customer service center toll-free at 1-888-ASK-MODOT (888-275-6636) or by writing to MoDOT's Aviation Unit, P.O. Box 270, Jefferson City, MO 65102. The directory can be viewed on MoDOT's Web site at http://www.modot.mo.gov/othertransportation/aviation/airportdirectory.htm

Legislature Honors MoDOT Crews

"Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."

Add ice and floods and this motto - most often attributed to the U.S. Postal Service - summarizes what Missouri Department of Transportation highway crews have been up against for the past five months.

The Missouri House of Representatives recently honored MoDOT maintenance crews with a House resolution thanking them for keeping Missouri highways clear and safe. Reps. David Pearce, Charlie Schlottach and Tom Loehner sponsored the resolution. In addition, Sen. John Griesheimer praised MoDOT workers on the Senate floor for their efforts to keep roads open during the floods.

Most recently road crews have been busy scouting flood conditions, closing overflowing roads and sandbagging low-lying areas to keep water off of roadways. During the winter, MoDOT maintenance staff used enough salt - 320,000 tons - to fill Mizzou arena in Columbia in their battle to keep state highways clear of ice and snow. Maintenance crews put in approximately 550,000 working hours, including 215,000 hours of overtime, keeping Missouri roads clear.
"To make things even more challenging, many of the weather emergencies hit on a weekend or holiday," MoDOT Director Pete Rahn said. "Our crews barely had a breather between winter's ice and snow and the spring flooding. We've had to ask a lot of our employees these past several months, and like the Post Office they've delivered.

"We all can use a pat on the back now and again," Rahn said. "We thank the legislature for recognizing the efforts of our great crews."