September 9, 2016
Contact: Mary Enger, Communications Director, 636-949-1856, or 636-443-1008, menger@sccmo.org
St. Charles County, Missouri – Safety is the key component of many of the St. Charles County transportation improvement projects approved August 31 by the East-West Gateway Council of Governments for the 2017-2020 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). The approvals will become effective October 1, 2016, pending state and federal consent.
The TIP is a schedule of transportation improvements planned by various agencies in the St. Louis metropolitan area. Projects in the program have been given priorities based on, and are consistent with, the region’s long-range transportation plan.
“Road and bridge safety in St. Charles County is a high priority,” says St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlmann, who serves on the East-West Gateway Board and voted to approve the plan. “I am pleased that so many of the projects are planned to improve the safety of drivers in the County. I would like to thank the East-West Gateway Board, the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) and the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission for their partnership and support of our goals.”
Serious injuries from crashes in St. Charles County have been decreasing in recent years, according to statistics from the Missouri State Highway Patrol. In 2008, there were 220 serious injuries; in 2014, that number was 131. In St. Louis City, which has a similar population, there were 224 serious injury crashes in 2014. Jefferson County, with fewer residents, had 155 serious injury crashes.
“As we grow in population, we have more motorists on our county roads, and that generally leads to more serious crashes. However, in St. Charles County, the number of serious crashes is decreasing,” Ehlmann says. “Additionally, we are starting to see a downward trend in the number of fatalities.”
Ehlmann credits the trends to the East-West Gateway Board, MoDOT and the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission for their commitment to building better roads and bridges in St. Charles County, and the region.
Safety projects of note in the TIP include:
US 61 from Missouri Route A to Peine Road: Funding for a joint project between St. Charles County, Wentzville, and MoDOT to convert the at-grade intersections between Missouri Route A and Peine Road to right-in/right-out and construct a new interchange at Missouri Route P/Peine Road. This will reduce the potential for median cross-over crashes and improve safety along this segment of US 61. Construction is anticipated to start in 2018.
I-70 from Woodlawn Avenue to T.R. Hughes Boulevard: Funding for a joint project between St. Charles County, O’Fallon, and MoDOT to convert outer roads to one way and revise interchanges as part of the I-70 Traffic Flow Improvements Project. This will relieve congestion and improve safety. Construction is anticipated to start in late 2017.
Intersection of Hopewell Road and Duello Road on Route N: Funding for safety improvements to improve sight distance and safety. The project will be constructed by the St. Charles County Highway Department and is anticipated to start in 2018.
Missouri Rural Routes T and W: Additional funding will add shoulder and safety improvements for Route W and pavement improvements for Route T, both in the western portion of the county. This is a continuation of the safety improvements for rural routes N, D, DD, Z and 94 that recently were completed by MoDOT. Construction on Route W is anticipated to start in 2018, and Route T, in 2019. In 2009, a group of concerned citizens (known as Shoulders for Safety) worked with state and local officials for the construction of shoulders on many of the county’s rural lettered and numbered routes. There were 15 fatalities on these routes in 2009; that number was reduced to eight in 2013.
Missouri Route 364 from I-64 to Mid Rivers Mall Drive: This project involves the installation of guard cable in the median on Route 364 to assist in preventing cross-over accidents. It is anticipated the project will start in 2017.
Missouri N at Weiss Road: Funding has been approved to realign this intersection to improve safety. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2019.
The entire TIP can be viewed online at www.ewgateway.org.
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