Coming down the pike: I-270, Rte. 141 projects
St. Louis Business Journal
December 11, 2009
by Rick Desloge
Now that the reconstruction of Highway 40/Interstate 64 has been completed, the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) will turn its attention to road work on Interstate 270 that has been delayed for nearly three years.
"We didn't have any work on 270 while I-64 was under construction," said Bill Schnell, assistant district engineer for MoDOT's St. Louis region.
MoDOT was able to move some projects forward with a boost from federal stimulus funding. But even with the stimulus, the money runs out long before the projects do, said Cheryl Hodges, director of highways, transportation and public works for St. Louis County.
Two major MoDOT projects in St. Louis County expected to start in 2010 include reworking I-270 interchanges at Dorsett Road and Page Avenue, and widening and relocating State Route 141, also known as Woods Mill Road, from Highway 40 to Olive.
MoDOT originally estimated the I-270 interchanges would carry a price tag of $40 million, "but the bids have come in considerably less than that," Schnell said.
MoDOT is paying $65 million, primarily from federal stimulus funding, of the estimated total project cost of $130 million for the Route 141 project. St. Louis County also is paying a portion of the cost.
MoDOT is building a "diverging diamond" interchange where I-270 intersects with Dorsett. The interchange, which will have Dorsett traffic crisscross at the interchange's stoplights, is expected to allow more cars to pass through the intersection, where congestion is regularly a problem, Schnell said. Construction should start in January.
The 18-month project will require construction crews to close lanes, and that work will be done at off-peak hours.
Fred Weber Construction landed the contract with a bid of $33.4 million. MoDOT is paying the most, about 38.3 percent of the total, followed by the Missouri Department of Economic Development, 26.7 percent; St. Louis County, 19.5 percent; and Maryland Heights, 15.5 percent.
The Route 141 project was unfunded until federal stimulus money arrived, Schnell said.
MoDOT is paying $65 million to improve and realign Route 141 from Ladue Road to Olive Boulevard. The work calls for a six-lane road east of existing Route 141 and would also add two through lanes in each direction along Route 141 between Ladue Road and Highway 40.
The project is part of a Page to Olive Connector to link the southern extension of the Maryland Heights Expressway from Page Avenue to Route 141. Ultimately it will create an expressway corridor extending from U.S. 61-67 in Jefferson County to Missouri Route 370 in northwest St. Louis County.
"When this whole thing is done, you'll have a new corridor in St. Louis County," Schnell said.
Construction should start next spring. MoDOT has allocated money from its share of funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for the Route 141 project. St. Louis County is contributing approximately $20 million for the project.
Meanwhile, the state will be restriping and repaving I-44 and I-70 to reduce a traffic lane -- returning those interstates to the same number of lanes they had before the Highway 40 reconstruction began. That work will start next spring. The work will be at night and should wrap up in the fall.
The county has estimated it has tens of millions of dollars in maintenance work that must be delayed indefinitely on its more than 3,000-lane-mile road system for lack of funding.
"Countywide, if we had the money, we'd do a lot more preservation work on existing roads," Hodges said.
Her department, which watches long-term transportation needs of the county, has outlined a number of projects that lack sufficient funding. Those projects, still in their early stages, include:
- A South County Connector that would link Hanley Road to Big Bend Road, I-44 and River Des Peres Boulevard. It would improve the connection of the county's central core with parts of South County - including Affton and Lemay. It's estimated to cost $167 million.
- A North County Connector that would extend Earth City Expressway northward to connect with Shackelford Road and continue the outer-belt corridor of Highway 141 and Earth City Expressway. This would connect North County communities and residents with retail centers and some of the largest employment centers in the region, as well as relieve traffic on local roads. It is estimated to cost $203 million.
- A River Valley Connector, also known as the Baxter Road Extension, that would extend Baxter Road into the Chesterfield Valley. The project includes a new bridge over Highway 40 at the east end of Chesterfield Valley, along with partial interstate access. It's estimated to cost $82 million.
