County Councilman Brian Haskins will hold a town hall meeting to seek input about potential safety improvements to Hwy. 30.
The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 5, at the High Ridge Fire Protection District Station 1, 2842 High Ridge Blvd.
Haskins said those who frequently travel Hwy. 30 are welcome to share their thoughts, questions, comments and concerns at the meeting. Free light snacks and drinks will be served.
He said officials from the Missouri Department of Transportation, along with High Ridge Fire Chief John Barton, North Jefferson County Ambulance Chief Jamie Guinn, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Undersheriff Tim Whitney and Public Works Director Jason Jonas will be at the meeting to answer questions.
Haskins said he’d like to see a lot of input regarding potential safety improvements to the highway, which runs from the Fenton area to Grubville in the western portion of Jefferson County.
“I think the public would be anxious to hear things that they have in mind to make Hwy. 30 one of the safer roads to travel, instead of one of the most dangerous roads to travel,” Haskins said. “We’d like to fill the room to capacity and let MoDOT know that we really feel strongly about making this a better, safer place to live and drive on.”
According to MoDOT, from 2016-2020, there were 1,620 crashes within a 20-mile stretch of Hwy. 30 in Jefferson County, from Hwy. Y in Grubville to Old Sugar Creek Road in the Murphy area in unincorporated Fenton.
MoDOT’s plan since 2024 has been to reduce serious or fatal crashes at various locations along Hwy. 30 by installing several types of safety improvements.
In 2024, MoDOT began to install advanced curve warning signs near Murphy; dynamic signal warning flashers and retroreflective backplates at the Hwy. 30 and Hwy. MM intersection in House Springs; and an LED stop sign and flashing beacon on warning signs at the Hwy. 30 and Conrad Smith Drive intersection near Scottsdale. According to MoDOT, the installations are still ongoing.
The advanced warning signs and dynamic signal warning flashers alert drivers to be prepared to stop at upcoming traffic signals. Retroreflective backplates will be added to existing traffic signals to increase visibility, MoDOT reported.
In spring 2026, MoDOT plans to use lane narrowing for a curve on Hwy. 30 a half mile east of Dittmer Ridge Road in Dittmer and for a Hwy. 30 curve about 2 miles west of Dittmer Ridge Road at Diehl Road near Cedar Hill Lakes.
Lane narrowing would gradually widen the centerline marking throughout these two curves. The 12-foot lanes will be reduced to 10-foot width, maintaining MoDOT’s minimum standard.
The narrowing of the lanes is an optical illusion meant to slow drivers down, MoDOT officials have stated. The actual pavement will remain the same, but the median striping will be widened, giving drivers the sense that the road is narrowing.
All of these Hwy. 30 safety improvements are part of a $52 million Safety Improvements Project that stems from a partnership with MoDOT and St. Louis County for vehicle and pedestrian improvements in Jefferson and St. Louis counties and the city of St. Louis.
In addition, a $5.4 million construction project is slated for 2027, with MoDOT planning to resurface nearly 8 miles of pavement on Hwy. 30 from just west of Hwy. PP to just west of Gravois Bluffs and on Hwy. PP from Byrnes Mill Road to Hwy. 30. Guardrails and signage will also be replaced on Hwy. 30 as part of the project. This project is part of MoDOT’s $13.2 billion Statewide Transportation Improvement Plan for transportation-related projects, running from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2030. The projects would be funded with a combination of federal and state funds.
Haskins said more safety measures are needed for the section of Hwy. 30 that runs through his district, from the Jefferson County portion of Fenton to House Springs. He said acceleration lanes are needed at some of the intersections, such as the High Ridge Boulevard intersection, which sees a lot of traffic due to the nearby Walmart shopping plaza.
MoDOT recently changed the speed limit on Hwy. 30 from 60 to 55 miles per hour from the county line to the Little Brennan Road intersection, about a 2.8-mile stretch, but Haskins said the speed limit should be reduced past Little Brennan as well.
“The road was built 52 years ago, and the population has quadrupled since then,” Haskins said. “All of the shopping centers weren’t there when the highway was developed. We also have more and more people accessing the eight or nine traffic signals in my district. It’s no longer a rural community expressway, not even close.”
Haskins said those interested in commenting should do so ahead of the meeting. They may text or call him at 314-378-5333, or e-mail him at bhaskins@jeffcomo.org. A 20-minute networking period will be held at the start of the meeting when attendees may fill out comment cards, he said.