The city of Arnold recently finalized agreements to receive Surface Transportation Block Grants (STBG) from the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission to improve St. Johns Church Road and continue improving Pomme Road.
The city will receive $1,563,983 in grant funding to help cover the estimated $2.4 million cost to improve St. Johns Church Road, and it will receive another $1,575,000 to help cover the estimated $2.2 million cost for the second phase of improvements on Pomme Road, Arnold Project Engineer Judy Wagner said.
Arnold also recently agreed to pay up to $399,778.60 to Oates and Associates Inc. of St. Louis to provide engineering services for the second phase of the Pomme Road improvement project. The city previously agreed to pay the engineering firm up to $374,751.71 to design the first phase of the project.
City Council members voted 7-0 on Sept. 4 to execute the STBG agreements and to hire Oates and Associates. Ward 3 Councilman Rodney Mullins was absent from the meeting.
Wagner said Arnold will pay the costs for the two road projects not covered by the grant with money it receives from part of a share of 1/2-cent countywide sales tax Jefferson County collects for road and bridge projects.
She said the St. Johns Church Road project, which initially wasn’t expected to start until February 2029, may begin in 2027 or 2028, depending on how the right of way acquisitions and utility relocations proceed.
Wagner also said the city is working with the East-West Gateway Council of Governments, which administers the STBGs, to combine the two Pomme Road projects into one. If the two phases may be combined, the project’s cost may be lower and the work may be completed quicker.
City documents show the first phase of the project scheduled to start in March 2026 and the second phase in January 2028.
St. Johns Church Road
St. Johns Church Road’s lanes will be widened to 12 feet, and curbs and gutters will be installed between Richardson Road and Patrick Place. Drainage ditches will be installed to alleviate flooding, particularly for properties along the north side of the road, Wagner said.
She also said the road will 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.
St. Johns Church Road is approximately a half-mile long and connects Richardson Road and Jeffco Boulevard.
Great River Engineering of Springfield is designing the project. In July 2024, Arnold agreed to pay the firm up to $195,000 for its work.
“We are ahead of this because we hired GRE prior to being awarded the grant,” Wagner said.
The city’s work on St. Johns Church Road is part of numerous improvements in that area.
In July, the Missouri Department of Transportation completed work to install a four-way signal where St. Johns Church Road, Linderhof Drive and Jeffco Boulevard intersect.
MoDOT also added a left turn lane on St. Johns Church Road for vehicles turning north onto Jeffco Boulevard, and a left-turn lane was added to Linderhof Drive for vehicles to turn south onto Jeffco Boulevard.
A left-turn lane already existed on Jeffco Boulevard at the intersection with St. Johns Church Road.
MoDOT’s improvements at the Arnold intersection were part of a $2.5 million project, which included improving the intersection at Hwy. 61-67 and Miller Road East south of the Arnold city limits.
In August, Arnold had new vehicle detection cameras installed at the four-way stop where Richardson Road, St. Johns Church Road and Richardson Square Drive intersect. The city paid Gerstner Electric of Fenton $30,250 to replace the obsolete system that had not worked properly for about a year.
Pomme Road
Wagner previously said the work on Pomme Road will completely transform the road.
“The current road is very narrow in spots with blind hills and drop offs,” she said. “The pavement condition is poor. We have to fill potholes on a regular basis.”
Arnold previously received a STBG that will cover $1,650,000 of the projected $3,150,000 cost for the first phase of improvements on the road.
Arnold will reconstruct just more than a half-mile of Pomme Road and add sidewalks between Lonedell Road and Rockveiw Lane during the first phase.
The second phase will cover about 2,150 feet of Pomme Road between Rockview Lane and Valmont Drive. Arnold plans to reconstruct the road and install new curbs, gutters, sidewalks, curb ramp connections, stormwater facilities and retaining walls, city documents said.
“We will cut down some of the steep hills and rebuild a new roadbed,” Wagner said.
She said the city will hold a public meeting about the second phase of the Pomme Road improvements before plans are finalized.
“We want to get the public’s input before we finish the design plans,” she said. “We will schedule the meeting when most homeowners can be present.”
Wagner said portions of Pomme Road will likely be closed during construction.
“Details will be determined as the design of the project progresses,” she said.