141.1 Cost Share Program

The purpose of the Cost Share Program is to build partnerships with local entities to pool efforts and resources to deliver state highway and bridge projects. MoDOT allocates Cost Share funds based on the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission’s approved funding distribution of which at least $5 million is set aside for projects that encourage economic development. Economic development set-aside balances in excess of $25 million are available for any Cost Share project. Projects are selected by the Cost Share Committee, which consists of the Chief Engineer, Chief Financial Officer and the Director of Program Delivery.

141.1.1 Eligible Projects

The Cost Share Program provides financial assistance to public and private applicants for state highway and bridge projects satisfying a transportation need.

141.1.2 Types of Cost Share Projects

Cost Share

MoDOT participates up to 50 percent of the total project costs on the state highway system. The amount of Cost Share funds allocated to a project is reduced by the estimated cost of activities performed by MoDOT such as preliminary engineering, right of way incidentals and construction inspection.

Economic Development

MoDOT participates up to 100 percent of the total project costs on the state highway system, if the project creates jobs that have been verified by the Department of Economic Development. Retail development projects are not eligible. The amount of Economic Development Cost Share funds allocated to a project is reduced by the estimated amount of activities performed by MoDOT such as preliminary engineering, right of way incidentals and construction inspection. The project agreement will identify requirements for returning funds if jobs are not created as planned. If a REMI (Regional Economic Modeling, Inc.) analysis is being considered, contact Resource Management.

141.1.3 Application Process

The applicant works with the appropriate MoDOT district contact to determine the project scope and costs. The district assists the applicant in preparing the Request for Environmental Services (RES) and the Cost Share application. The application is available online.

A letter of support from the district engineer must be submitted with the application. The letter of support shall explain in detail the significance of the project and the impact it could have on the department. A letter of support from the metropolitan planning organization (MPO) or regional planning commission (RPC) is also required.

The items listed below must be submitted to Resource Management by the established deadline. Applications received after the deadline will be considered at the next Cost Share Committee meeting. Application deadlines are posted on the Partnership Development website.

• Signed and completed application
• District Engineer’s support letter
• MPO’s or RPC’s support letter
• Traffic models or traffic reports
• Project map

141.1.4 Review Process

Each application is reviewed for verification of the following criteria:

• The total project costs are in excess of $200,000.
• The total project costs include preliminary engineering, right of way, utilities, construction and construction inspection.
• The applicant agrees to provide their share of the total project costs on the state highway system and full funding for any portion of the project not on the state highway system.
• The Cost Share funding request is not in excess of $20 million and is limited to $5 million per year. (Projects too costly to be eligible for the Cost Share program may be considered for special cost participation from other statewide funding sources. Contact Resource Management for additional information.)
• Additional funds, such as Federal Earmarks, clearly obtained or held by the applicant are credited to their contribution. All other Federal Earmarks are applied to the total project costs.
• If debt financing is used to accelerate the Cost Share project to complete it earlier than funding is available from MoDOT, the applicant must pay and not include the debt-financing costs in the total project costs. The debt-financing costs include items such as bond counsel, underwriter, financial advisor fees, application fees and interest.

After initial verification of the application, Resource Management forwards the application to the Cost Share Pre-approval Team.

The Cost Share Pre-approval Team consists of staff from Resource Management, Right of Way, Transportation Planning, Design, Traffic and Chief Counsel’s Office. The team is responsible for submitting comments and a recommendation to Resource Management on or before the specified deadline. The Cost Share Pre-approval Team meets with district staff to discuss the application, resolve any outstanding issues and determine the team’s recommendation to the Cost Share Committee. The Cost Share Pre-Approval Team ranks each application based on the following criteria:

• Economic Development
• Transportation Need
• Public Benefit

Resource Management prepares the Cost Share notebooks, which include the meeting agenda, project review sheets, project maps and team recommendations. Notebooks are distributed to the Cost Share Committee members one week prior to the meeting.

141.1.5 Approval Process

The district presents the team’s recommendation for each application to the Cost Share Committee.

The Cost Share Committee approves, denies or requests additional information for each application.

Resource Management provides a letter for the district engineer to send the applicant informing them of the Cost Share Committee’s decision and discussion points. If additional information is needed, Resource Management will compile the requested information and provide it to the Cost Share Committee.

Project Agreement and Programming Process

The district works with the approved applicant to draft the Cost Share agreement, using the form RM08 found on the Chief Counsel’s Office intranet page. Agreements include the maximum amount of approved Cost Share funding and the year the funding is available. The district sends the agreement to the “Agreements” list in Lotus Notes for review. The district and applicant address all comments and make appropriate changes to the agreement. The agreement is sent to the Chief Counsel’s Office for a final review before the applicant executes the agreement.

The applicant must execute the Cost Share agreement within six months after the approval of the Cost Share Committee to prevent the funds from expiring and being allocated to another project, unless an extension is approved by the Cost Share Committee.

If the project is within an MPO, the MPO amends the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) at this time.

Once the applicant executes the agreement (six copies), the district submits the agreement to Resource Management. The district coordinates with Transportation Planning to amend the project to the STIP. Once the month is set for the project to be amended to the STIP, Resource Management sends the agreement to the Chief Counsel’s Office to sign as to form. The Chief Counsel’s Office then forwards the agreement to the Commission Secretary’s Office for approval and execution at the same time the project is amended to the STIP. The funds are contingent upon an executed agreement between the applicant and the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission (MHTC). Resource Management forwards the fully executed agreement to the district (three copies, two to be forwarded to the applicant), Controller’s Division (one copy), Transportation Planning (one copy) and retains one copy.

Project Delivery Process

The district ensures the design, right of way and construction activities comply with the Engineering Policy Guide (EPG).

Resource Management works with Transportation Planning and Controller’s Division to determine actual Cost Share funds utilized on projects (at bid award and/or project completion) and returns any excess funds to the Cost Share program.