An expansion of I-55 between Pevely and Festus took another step toward reality on July 1 after the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission approved a five-year plan for improvements to state-maintained roads proposed by the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT).
The plan, called the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), includes 1,417 highway and bridge projects around the state.
The most high-profile project in Jefferson County is a $112 million project to add a third lane on I-55 in Jefferson County, from 1 1/2 miles north of Hwy. Z near Pevely to 1 mile south of Hwy. 67 south of the Twin Cities.
Work on the project is scheduled for 2024, with preliminary work to be done in 2023.
“This is exciting news and something that’s long overdue,” said state Rep. Becky Ruth (R-Festus), who chairs the Missouri House Transportation Committee. “I’ve worked on this for many years. I’ve seen the timeline on this project move up, from an unfunded priority onto the draft of the STIP and getting funding.”
The final approval is expected in August from the East-West Gateway Coordinating Council of Governments, which oversees transportation funding in the St. Louis region.
“That shouldn’t be any problem,” Ruth said. “They (East-West) generally go with the plan from the state.”
Ruth said a recent upturn in accidents on that section of the interstate point out the need for the work.
“We’re seeing accidents increase on this stretch,” she said. “This has been so long in coming, and it’s great to see progress being made. It looks like it’s going to happen. We need it in terms of safety, our economy, jobs and infrastructure. It’s huge for our entire county.”
The STIP includes 18 other projects specific to roads in Jefferson County that would cost a total of about $197,352,000.
Two other local projects involve maintenance of 17 bridges along Hwy. 21 throughout the county and work on the I-55 bridge over the Meramec River between St. Louis County and Arnold.
The Hwy. 21 work is expected to be done between July 2022 and June 2023; the I-55 Arnold work is scheduled for 2024-2025.
The Commercial Boulevard (Hwy. 61-67) bridge in Herculaneum over the Joachim Creek is set to be replaced and raised above flood level, with that $13,494,000 project slated for mid-2022 to mid-2023.