Transportation Projects

Transportation Sales Tax Funds Keep County Moving, Attract New Businesses and Residents

Improving infrastructure is a top priority for St. Charles County Government. Since the inception of the countywide Transportation Sales Tax in 1985, and subsequent reauthorizations by voters, the County has obligated approximately $750 million in sales tax revenues to construct approximately $1.3 billion in transportation improvements. These improvements not only help keep traffic running smoothly but are a reason that businesses and people alike move to St. Charles County.

Wentzville Bottleneck

Fixing the daily traffic jam and bottleneck on I-70 in Wentzville—the 35th worst bottleneck in the entire nation—has been a County priority for years. The project was expected to be bid this June but has been delayed because the railroad has required an additional step, not required before now, to review the design plans. The project now is scheduled to be bid in October, after which construction will begin and be completed by late 2025. The next step to fix this bottleneck is for the interchange at I-70/I-64/US 61 to be reconstructed. In 2020, the County kick-started this step by advancing $1 million to MoDOT for traffic modeling and design. This work has been completed and in 2022, at the request of St. Charles County, the state programmed $93 million for phase 1 of the improvements; however, a specific timeline for construction has not yet been determined. The County will continue to work with MoDOT to keep this project on schedule.

Since 2010, St. Charles County Government and local municipalities have invested $200 million in local funds to improve MoDOT roads in the county to improve safety, enhance access, and reduce congestion while the state focused on preservation and maintenance due to lack of funding. With the passage of an increase in state motor fuel tax, the County is hoping that, going forward, MoDOT will be able to fund preservation and maintenance projects as well as road and bridge improvements needed to support growing communities like St. Charles County.

Key 2022 Projects

Hopewell Road/Duello Road at Route N 
This project is a realignment of Route N, which is a state route, at Hopewell Road to west of Duello Road to remove a hazardous horizontal reverse curve the widening of Route N to provide separate right and left turn lanes in both directions at the new intersection and adding dedicated turn lanes on Hopewell and Duello roads. A follow-up project, adding a traffic signal to the intersection, is expected in 2026. This project included $1 million in federal funds and would likely not have been a critical project for MoDOT.

  • Cost: $2.7 million; $1.6 million from the County’s ½-cent Transportation Sales Tax 

Lake Saint Louis Boulevard and Veterans Memorial Parkway Roundabout at I-70 
This project includes the conversion of the existing intersections at Lake Saint Louis Boulevard with Veterans Memorial Parkway and the eastbound I-70 ramps to a new, six-legged roundabout to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion. This project included $500,000 in MoDOT cost share funds but was not a priority project for MoDOT. This project likely would not have happened if the County didn’t do it, regardless of funding availability.

  • Cost: $3.5 million; $1.4 million from the County’s ½-cent Transportation Sales Tax

Caledonia Parkway at Highway DD 
This project includes the addition of new signals at Highway DD, which is a state route, and Caledonia Parkway, a roundabout at Highway DD and Dalriada Boulevard, and the widening of Highway DD to provide for additional through lanes and turn lanes to improve traffic flow in the area. This project was funded by the County, City of O’Fallon, developer and MoDOT cost share.

  • Cost: $3.8 million; $1.9 million from the County’s ½-cent Transportation Sales Tax

Key Projects Still Under Construction

Muegge Road at Route 364 and Route 94 
When complete in Summer 2023, the project will increase mobility, reduce travel times, reduce crashes, increase capacity, and improve local access to and from Routes 364 and 94, which are state routes. The County has funded and is providing consultant construction management of these improvements in partnership with the City of St. Charles. This project includes $5 million in MoDOT cost share and is not a critical project for MoDOT. This project would not happen if the County didn’t do it, regardless of funding availability.

  • Cost: $22 million; $7.5 million from the County’s ½-cent Transportation Sales Tax

Key Projects Approved by the County Council in 2022 to Begin in 2023

Salt River Road at Route 370 
Planned completion of the first phase of the expansion of the Salt River Road and Route 370 interchange, which is a state route, to reduce reliance on the existing I-70 interchanges at Mid Rivers Mall Drive and Cave Springs Road for commuter, truck, and freight traffic. Due to lack of state funding, the County funded the project in partnership with the City of St. Peters  who is overseeing construction of  these improvements. This project includes $1.8 million in MoDOT cost share but is not a critical project for MoDOT. This project would not happen if the County didn’t do it, regardless of funding availability.

  • Cost: $6 million; $2 million from the County’s ½-cent Transportation Sales Tax

Route N and Route Z 
Planned realignment of the intersection of Route Z and Route N, which are state routes, to reduce confusion and traffic delay currently experienced at this intersection through reconfiguration of the intersection, addition of a new signal, and separate left- and right-turn lanes in all directions. Due to lack of state funding, the County funded and is constructing these improvements.  

  • Cost: $5.8 million; $4.3 million from the County’s ½-cent Transportation Sales Tax

David Hoekel Parkway 
Planning for the David Hoekel Parkway corridor began in 2001. When complete, the corridor will be a two-lane road from I-64 at MO 364 to US 61 at Route P/Peine Road that can be widened to four lanes in the future. The interchange at US 61 was completed in 2018, and the I-70 interchange in 2022. This new road corridor will help relieve traffic congestion on Wentzville Parkway and support continued growth in the Wentzville area.

David Hoekel Parkway Map

Smart Parking 
Improvement of traffic flow and air quality in the City of St. Charles through the implementation of an advanced parking management system, called the St. Charles Smart Parking Project.

  • Cost: $1 million; $100,000 from the County’s ½-cent Transportation Sales Tax

Additionally, the County made pavement improvements on unincorporated county roads by committing $10 million in ARPA funding for the replacement slabs of concrete and overlay of asphalt roadways. An additional $10 million from the County’s ½-cent Transportation Sales Tax fund, combined with a match from municipalities for their own slab replacement programs, provided more than $30 million in pavement improvements throughout the County.

To date, in unincorporated St. Charles County, 45,200 square yards of concrete (approximately 2,100 slabs) have been replaced, with an additional 55,400 square yards (2,550 slabs) scheduled. The County Highway Department overlaid approximately 3 miles of asphalt roads using 4,595 tons of asphalt in 2022 and will be performing full depth replacement on 1.6 miles of road, using 14,190 tons of asphalt, in 2023.