Bridge compromise?

State and Local Government |
By David Stokes | Read Time 1 minute

Last week, I blogged about how I liked the Martin Luther King bridge expansion idea as a plan to improve transportation across the Mississippi.  It seems that County Executive Charlie Dooley has now given a cautious endorsement of that deal, provided the plan meets certain guarantees, all of which seem very reasonable.  This plan strikes me more each time I study it as a very sensible and, in context, affordable solution to the transportation needs of metro Saint Louis.  While I like the toll bridge idea too, as a Missouri taxpayer I like even more the idea of Illinois paying for almost all of it.  Plus, my own experiences with the MLK bridge lead me to beleive an expanded bridge could really serve the needs of our community. 

Now all we have to do is expand MetroLink to Madison and St. Charles Counties, paid for by local taxpyers only, and we will be in good shape.   

About the Author

David Stokes is a St. Louis native and a graduate of Saint Louis University High School and Fairfield (Conn.) University. He spent six years as a political aide at the St. Louis County Council before joining the Show-Me Institute in 2007. Stokes was a policy analyst at the Show-Me Institute from 2007 to 2016. From 2016 through 2020 he was Executive Director of Great Rivers Habitat Alliance, where he led efforts to oppose harmful floodplain developments done with abusive tax subsidies. Stokes rejoined the Institute in early 2021 as the Director of Municipal Policy. He is a past president of the University City Library Board. He served on the St. Louis County 2010 Council Redistricting Commission and was the 2012 representative to the Electoral College from Missouri’s First Congressional District. He lives in University City with his wife and their three children.

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