The city of Arnold will hold an open house for people to review plans for proposed improvements to St. Johns Church Road between Richardson Road and Jeffco Boulevard.
The meeting will be held from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Thursday, July 24, at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 3517 Jeffco Blvd., in Arnold.
Judy Wagner, Arnold project engineer, and Jeff Banderet of Great River Engineering, which the city hired to design the project, will be at the meeting to discuss the proposed improvements to the approximately 0.33-mile stretch of St. Johns Church Road.
Comments about the proposed improvements may be submitted during the open house. People also may send comments to Wagner by email at jwagner@arnoldmo.org; by mail to Arnold Public Works, 2900 Arnold Tenbrook Road, Arnold, 63010; by email to Banderet at jbanderet@greatriv.com or by mail to Great River Engineering, 2000 South Hanley Road, St. Louis, 63144.
Comments may be submitted from July 24 through Aug. 7.
According to the plan for the improvements, St. Johns Church Road’s lanes will be widened to 12 feet, and curbs and gutters will be installed. Drainage ditches will be installed to alleviate flooding, particularly for properties along the north side of the road, according to a written statement from the city.
The road will also be repaved, and sidewalks will be added along both sides. A new crosswalk with a rectangular rapid flashing beacon will be installed at the St. John’s Lutheran School, and a westbound-to-northbound right-turn lane onto Richardson Road will be added, the statement said.
Along with improving the street, sidewalks and stormwater drainage, a new controller for the traffic signals at the intersection of Richardson and St. John’s Church roads will be installed, Wagner said.
City Council members voted in July 2024 to pay up to $195,000 to Great River Engineering of Springfield to provide engineering services for the project. Arnold will pay for most of the project’s estimated $2.4 million cost with a grant from the Federal Highway Administration, the city reported.
Arnold will begin to negotiate for right-of-way acquisitions in summer 2026, and construction is expected to start in early 2029. However, the project could start sooner if the city can quickly secure the necessary right-of-way deals, according to the report.
City officials said the project is necessary because deteriorating pavement, narrow lanes and the absence of pedestrian walkways create safety issues, and the addition of curb and gutters, as well as improvements to roadside ditches, will convey stormwater runoff in a more efficient manner.
The proposed improvements will result in continuous sidewalks along both sides of the road, as well as ADA improvements, and signal upgrades at Richardson Road and the addition of a westbound right-turn lane will improve traffic flow and increase safety in the area, according to the city.
The city’s improvements to St. Johns Church Road will tie into the Missouri Department of Transportation’s work to improve the area where St. Johns Church Road, Linderhof Drive and Jeffco Boulevard intersect.
That work is part of a $2.5 million project that is underway and includes improvements at the intersection of Hwy. 61-67 and Miller Road East just south of Arnold city limits. MoDOT hired Pavement Solutions for that project.
The entire project involving the two intersections is expected to be completed later this summer, according to MoDOT.