Tom Clark says desk jobs he has worked in the past have involved 50- and 60-hour workweeks, not including daily preparation and commutes. So to him, a job that takes him away from home for large chunks of time isn’t an issue.

In an 87-page report released on Jan. 1, the 21st Century Missouri Transportation Task Force, a 23-member group of lawmakers and industry experts, made a number of recommendations for improving the state’s nearly 34,000-mile highway system and more than 10,000 bridges, including an increase in the state’s gas tax.

An expansion of the plant at Cardinal Scale Manufacturing Co. is on schedule, a company official said.