JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Following a leadership change earlier this month, the new director of the Missouri Department of Transportation said the agency is still on track to increase staffing and finish construction projects on time. 

At one point, the state’s transportation department was short a thousand employees. Now, there’s only 200 vacancies. This transition comes at a time when the agency is in the middle of a $14.5 billion, five-year construction plan, the largest in the history of the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT). 

“We had a crisis four years ago where we had 90 people walking out the door every month,” MoDOT Director Ed Hassinger said. “We’re on a net gain month over month, and we need to do that for another two years to get back to full strength.”

Former MoDOT Director Patrick McKenna resigned in September after nearly a decade at the department. Hassinger was chosen from a field of 12 applicants by the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission. During his 40-year career at the department, Hassinger served as a front-line engineer and designed and inspected bridges as the chief engineer before holding the interim director title. 

After facing a 20 percent turnover rate a year ago, MoDOT’s new director said the bleeding has stopped. In his first television interview since being chosen, Hassinger said the Improve I-70 Project is on target. 

“We’ll have the entire Blue Springs to Wentzville done in seven years, and some people say, ‘Well, that sounds impossible,'” Hassinger said. “I can tell you, as it stands today, we’re on track.”

At the same time, MoDOT is making improvements to another major interstate. 

“I-44 is right behind I-70 with how old it is and how much it’s being used,” Hassinger said. “They [lawmakers] set aside $20 million to do a comprehensive study for the entire corridor, which I think is very forward thinking. We’re well into that process.”

He said drivers can expect to see construction in the Springfield area as soon as next summer. While money has not yet been approved by lawmakers, Hassinger said the long-term goal is to expand I-44 to three lanes in both directions across the state. 

Following the construction in Springfield, Hassinger said the next part of the interstate project is the I-49 and I-44 interchange in Joplin. 

His priority, he said, is to hire more workers to address what he calls “windshield issues.”

“The trash isn’t picked up, there are dead deer on the road, the sign is hanging, and we just don’t have the time to get to them,” Hassinger said. “Really, the only way to do that is through having people do it.”

With winter around the corner, Hassinger said the department is in better shape than previous years. 

“We’re plus 200 from where we were last year, which is good,” Hassinger said. “I would like to have another 200 on top of that, but it just takes time.”

Hassinger said in a press conference following his announcement earlier this month that he is expecting the 200 operation positions to be filled by July of next year. 

Last year, state workers received an 8.7% pay raise from lawmakers. This year, the General Assembly approved another 3.2% cost of living increase. Overall, Parson’s administration has approved a 20% boost in pay since 2018.