Photo by Jessica Stewart / St. Joseph News-Press / Purchase this photo

Vehicles pass by construction Thursday evening on southbound Interstate 29. The Missouri Department of Transportation is working on summer projects.

It might seem like $27 million is a lot for a summer budget, but for the Missouri Department of Transportation, that figure isn’t quite as much as they’re used to.

The 2006 and 2007 construction seasons set records, thanks to the voter-passed Amendment 3 in 2004 for large construction projects.

“We had twice as much work” for both years, said MoDOT District 1 Engineer Don Wichern.

State transportation officials continue to wrestle with the reality that major construction is set to expire in several years. Decreased funding from Amendment 3, which is a state fuel tax, higher bond payments and a deficit in federal highway revenues will all reduce the district’s workload to minimal maintenance and safety work after fiscal year 2013.

Northwest Missouri highways will primarily see resurfacing projects for the current season, Mr. Wichern said. Projects on Interstate 29 will resurface pavement for projected pricetags of $7.5 million in Holt County — from Missouri Highway 118 to U.S. Highway 59 south near Oregon, Mo. — and $6.5 million from the Iowa state line to Missouri Highway 111 in Atchison County near Rock Port.

Elsewhere, a portion of U.S. Highway 69 will be widened and resurfaced from Missouri Highway 116 to the Clay County line. That project is estimated at nearly $2 million.

“It was real narrow and windy,” Mr. Wichern said.

Paving of the westbound lanes of U.S. Highway 36 from Hamilton to the Livingston County line is also projected at almost $2 million.

A resurfacing project of Business Highway 71 in Andrew County, from I-29 to Price Street in Savannah, is estimated at more than $1.8 million. A repaving of Missouri Highway 13 in Caldwell County south of Hamilton is also pegged at that price.

“That was our worst pavement in the district,” Mr. Wichern said. It took three years for MoDOT to include the Highway 13 and U.S. 69 projects into its schedule, he added.

Other resurfacing projects are planned for Missouri Highway 48 and U.S. Highway 59 in Andrew County, U.S. Highway 169 in southern Buchanan and Clinton counties, and Missouri Highway 6 in Daviess County.

Less federal funding in 2009 could mean that some projects become delayed by a year, he said. Maintenance projects such as patching roads will be unaffected by revenue reductions, however.

“We’re going to continue to provide the same level of service,” Mr. Wichern said.

Otherwise this summer, maintenance crews are patching holes in concrete pavement on Interstate 29 between St. Joseph and Savannah.

Ray Scherer can be reached

at rscherer@npgco.com.