Work to improve High Ridge Boulevard is nearly complete, with the finishing touches set to be wrapped up by the end of August, Jefferson County Public Works Director Jason Jonas said.
The construction project began in August 2023 and included improvements to storm sewers and the installation of sidewalks and streetlights. The contractor, Infrastructure Management Inc. in St. Louis, is being paid about $2.69 million to complete the improvements. Federal funds will cover 65 percent of the cost, or $1,751,012.25, and the county will cover the rest, $942,852.75, with its share of a countywide 1/2-cent sales tax for road and bridge improvements.
The improvements focus on a 4,500-foot-long stretch of the road that includes businesses, the High Ridge Post Office, the High Ridge Fire Protection District and High Ridge Elementary School.
In addition, NB West Contracting in Eureka will repave a roughly 1.9-mile stretch of the boulevard starting at the Crossroads Plaza near Hwy. 30 past Hwy. PP to the city limits of Byrnes Mill.
Jonas said the contractor will bypass the Hwy. PP intersection because it is maintained by the Missouri Department of Transportation.
The county will pay NB West Contracting $1,961,507.42 to repave that section of the boulevard, as well as portions of Lonedell Road in the Arnold area, West Rock Creek Road and Seckman Road.
Jonas said smaller tweaks to the boulevard will also be finished by the end of August.
“There are two small areas that the contractor has to rework the concrete because they don’t have grade ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliance, but they’ll get those small sections replaced here pretty soon,” he said. “We did have two light poles hit by two separate vehicle accidents that we have ordered and are waiting to be replaced. There’s quite a lead time on those materials, but the lights should be turned on really soon.”
Stacey Webb of High Ridge, who works at Thairapy Salon and Spa, 2916 High Ridge Blvd., said construction of the new sidewalk impeded business a little, but it was greatly needed in the area. She said salon workers had to park across the street off and on for about six months while construction crews worked to complete the sidewalk.
Webb also said she sees people using the new sidewalks while shopping in the area, and she has seen daily walkers and joggers using them.
Rebekkah Pauley of High Ridge said the construction crews graded and repaved the salon’s parking lot during the project to create a seamless transition from the parking area to the sidewalk and street. Thairapy customers park in front of the building and need to cross over the sidewalk in their vehicles to access the parking area.
“I think it’s a good thing,” Pauley said. “Any kind of improvement is going to entice new businesses to come here.”
Future improvements
Jonas said even more improvements are in the works for High Ridge Boulevard. Preliminary plans call for the county to create a pedestrian crossing from the boulevard over Hwy. 30 to High Ridge Commons Parkway. The crossing would connect pedestrians to the Walmart Supercenter, McDonald’s and Wendy’s, among other businesses.
“There are no pedestrian crossings whatsoever across Hwy. 30,” Jonas said. “We’re looking at two or three crossing locations where we can get safe, pedestrian accessibility with signal upgrades so we can get pedestrians and cyclists through there.”
Jonas said the crossing would connect the boulevard to a network of existing sidewalks on the other side of Hwy. 30 in the High Ridge Commons.
More information about future improvements to the boulevard will be made available once the Walk-Bike Jefferson County Master Plan is unveiled to the public this fall, Jonas said.
In addition to the Hwy. 30 crossing, Jonas said Public Works personnel are evaluating the feasibility of putting a second sidewalk on the other side of the boulevard to match the one that was just finished. However, existing street parking on that side of the boulevard puts constraints on the department’s plans, Jonas said.
“We actually did an audit to figure out what else we could do, and there are a lot of constraints on the other side (of the boulevard) because there’s a lot of street parking,” he said. “Our main focus is going to be connecting what we did (on the boulevard) to the High Ridge Commons, trying to get pedestrian crossings. That’s a high priority.”