Work on final piece of 'outer belt' under way
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
June 22, 2010
by Ken Leiser
Drivers soon will notice construction of a 2.5-mile ribbon of six-lane road linking Maryland Heights Expressway with Highway 141 at Olive Boulevard.
KCI Construction Company Inc. will begin work on the northern piece of that $64 million extension - essentially filling in the last gap in a 30-mile outer loop that will ultimately link Jefferson County with Hazelwood, officials said. The project will take two years to complete, said KCI President Douglas Jones.
"The prep work's been under way," Jones said. "We are going to be moving dirt meaningfully in three weeks."
Jones said motorists will see work begin just south of Highway 364 - an extension of Page Avenue - as they drive between St. Charles and west St. Louis County. Regulatory clearances for the southern half of the project - where the thoroughfare will traverse creeks and small valleys on a series of bridges - still must be finalized.
"This will really make a difference," St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley said at a groundbreaking ceremony this morning. " We're talking about opening up 3,000 acres of land that's not developed yet."
It's also expected to relieve some of the traffic pressure on Interstate 270, the busiest stretch of highway in the state.
"When the city of Maryland Heights began construction on the Maryland Heights Expressway in 2002, it was with hope that it would one day be a part of the larger regional outer belt," said Maryland Heights Mayor Mike Moeller. "Almost two years ago, we celebrated the opening of the southern extension of the expressway at Water Works Road. But the connection to complete it (to) Highway 141 was still up in the air."
Here's how the funding for the Page-Olive Connector project breaks down:
- $20 million in federal stimulus funds
- $4.2 million from the city of Maryland Heights
- $4.2 million from the city of Chesterfield
- $35 million from St. Louis County
It's still unclear what the new highway will be called.
"Right now, this will be a St. Louis County road and because of that we can't name it Route 141," said Daniel Dreisewerd, a supervisor and project manager with the St. Louis County Highways and Traffic department. "We actually haven't finalized a name for this portion, whether it's Maryland Heights Expressway or something else. That's still in the works."
The Missouri Department of Transportation is moving forward with a $72 million effort to widen and relocate Highway 141 north of St. Luke's Hospital before it ties in with the extended Maryland Heights Expressway at Olive. MoDOT is working with companies to relocate underground utilties.
MoDOT's contractor cleared some trees along the realigned route and has begun earthmoving activities, said Andrew Gates, a MoDOT spokesman.
The state and county projects will open in July 2012.
