Missouri Department of Transportation representatives said they received a positive response from the approximately 40 people who attended a recent public meeting about proposed improvements to the intersection of Jeffco Boulevard with St. John’s Church Road in Arnold as well as at the intersection of Hwy. 61-67 with Miller Road East just south of the city limits.
The open house-style meeting was held Jan. 18 at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Arnold, when MoDOT engineers and planners discussed the addition of traffic signals and turn lanes at both intersections.
“People were very receptive of what we are planning to do,” MoDOT area engineer Stephen O’Connor said. “Everyone basically said these are needed projects, and those intersections will be improved when the signals come in. They liked how there will be turn lanes coming off the side streets and the addition of turn lanes (on Hwy. 61-67) at Miller Road East.”
O’Connor said a left-turn lane already exists on Jeffco Boulevard at the intersection with St. John’s Church Road, and MoDOT will add a left turn lane on St. John’s Church Road for vehicles turning north onto Jeffco Boulevard.
He also said a left-turn lane will be added to Linderhof Drive, which is across Jeffco Boulevard from St. John’s Church Road, for vehicles to turn south onto Jeffco Boulevard.
O’Connor said improvements also will be completed at the intersection of Hwy. 61-67 and Miller Road East, starting with aligning Miller Road East with the entrance of the Dollar General store, 4212 Jeffco Blvd.
MoDOT also will construct three new left-turn lanes, one on the highway, another on Miller Road East and the third on the Dollar General entrance. In addition, a right-turn lane will be built on Hwy. 61-67 for vehicles to turn onto Miller Road East, O’Connor said.
“If you have driven them, they are not great,” he said of the two intersections. “At St. John’s Church Road, there are cars coming down a hill and there is nowhere to go. You just kind of have to have an opening, step on the gas and get into that opening. The intersections will be better when we are done.”
O’Connor said the work at the intersections are safety projects.
“Accidents are higher than normal at these intersections,” he said. “MoDOT looks at all of the intersections and determined these are among the most dangerous.”
O’Connor said MoDOT officials are still reviewing comments submitted through the department’s website about the project.
“After we get all of those comments, we will look through everything and determine if there is something we need to change in the design,” he said. “The project is scheduled to start mid-summer of 2024, so we have a little over a year to get plans completed and approved before contractors put bids together.”