The Festus City Council agreed on Dec. 23 to seek a grant for Phase 3 of the West Main Street improvement project as work on Phase 2 continues.
Council members voted 7-0 to pay $9,500 to Heneghan and Associates, which has an office in Arnold, to provide Surface Transportation Program (STP) application services for Phase 3 of the project, which would improve about a half-mile stretch of West Main Street from Cromwell Road to Collins Drive.
Prior to the vote, City Administrator Greg Camp said there could eventually be up to five phases of West Main Street improvements.
“That would be the plan,” Camp confirmed in an interview after the meeting. “Additional phases would be farther west than phase 3 to the city limits; stretches have not been determined.”
However, Camp stressed that all future West Main Street improvement projects hinge on the city obtaining STP grants from the East-West Gateway Council of Governments, which develops plans and programs for the St. Louis region’s surface transportation system.
STP grants normally call for 80 percent federal funding and 20 percent local funding for projects, although sometimes an entity will agree to pay a higher percentage of the cost to improve its chances of obtaining the grants.
“We have had very good success with our (STP) grants,” Camp said. “But, it’s all contingent on East-West Gateway approving the grants.”
Camp said the phase 3 work grant application will cover the same basic improvements completed in Phase 1 and underway in Phase 2, including road resurfacing, sidewalk and streetlight upgrades, and gutters. As part of the project, sidewalks will be brought up to Americans with Disabilities (ADA) standards.
He said the city has paid for water main projects that have been completed in conjunction with the West Main Street improvement project.
Even if the city receives an STP grant for Phase 3, the work will not take place for several years, Camp said.
“This round of funding (that’s being sought) is for projects constructed between 2027 and 2029,” he said.
Phase 2 project moving along
Camp said Phase 2 of the project is progressing and covers a 0.3-mile stretch from Park Avenue near Festus City Hall west to the bridge over I-55.
“All of the water main work and service lines are done,” he said. “We’re at the point where they can reconstruct the sidewalk on the north side of the street and then (demolish) the sidewalk on the south side.
“Following that, you’ll have streetlight installation and new asphalt resurfacing.”
Camp said Phase 2, which started on Sept. 30, 2024, and was projected to last 120 work days, is on schedule. However, an ending date for the work is difficult to predict because it depends on weather.
Work days lost to inclement weather are not included in the 120-day schedule, Public Works Director Michael Christopher said.
The project’s general contractor is Jokerst Paving & Contracting of Festus.
Camp said Phase 2 will cost $929,687, but $296,403 of that is for waterline replacement, which the city is paying for by itself. Of the remaining $633,284, the STP grant will cover $470,065 and the city will pay $163,219.
Phase 1 of the project, the 0.4-mile stretch of West Main Street from South Mill Street to Park Avenue, had a $901,408 price tag. The STP grant paid $721,112.40 of the project, with the city paying the remaining $180,295.60. In addition to that, the city spent about $150,000 for waterline replacement. Kimes Contracting of Hillsboro was the general contractor for Phase 1.
Council member Jim Tinnin did not attend the meeting.