The first part of Project Redbird, a multi-governmental effort to improve the transportation network around the former Festus Memorial Airport in Crystal City in preparation for the construction of the James Hardie manufacturing plant, will be completed on schedule in December, county officials said.
Project manager Lane Harness of the Jefferson County Public Works Department said expediency was a big goal for the first phase of the project.
For that phase, construction crews repaved Airport Road and Calvary Church Road to withstand heavy industrial traffic. Crews still need to install guardrails. as well as sod the grounds along Airport Road, Harness said.
He said he’s proud of his team for completing phase one on schedule.
Harness said he first met with design consultants in late August 2023.
“To get all of this stuff out in the expedient time frame, it took everybody at Jefferson County, Crystal City, (Missouri Department of Transportation) personnel,” he said. “It was a big effort that everybody collectively worked together really hard on to get done.”
The county used a $7.2 million grant from the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission that was included in the 2024 state budget to help pay for the phase one construction costs. The county was required to provide a 100 percent local match for the grant and designated $7.25 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding for the project back in 2020.
Harness said any remaining funds from phase one will be used in phase two, along with another $12 million set aside for the project in the state budget.
Dan Naunheim, deputy director of Public Works, said Airport Road and Calvary Church Road were “in pretty rough shape” before the recent improvements were made.
“Airport Road was in really bad condition and it was literally falling apart,” Naunheim said. “It now looks brand new. We beefed them up and they won’t need to be touched again for years.”
Phase two
Crews will work to strengthen and straighten VFW Drive and St. Pius Drive to withstand additional heavy industrial traffic in phase two of Project Redbird, characterized as the northern portion of the phase, Harness said.
The Jefferson County Council will likely award a bid for the northern portion of phase two by the end of December, Harness said.
VFW Drive will be rebuilt from the Fred Weber Quarry to St. Pius Drive, which will impede some local traffic there as construction crews work on the road, Harness said.
He expects work to begin on the roads in the spring.
Additionally, the traffic signal at the Hwy. 61 and Hwy. 67 intersection will be reconfigured in the northern portion of phase two. Under the new configuration, there will be a dedicated left turn lane, a lane for through and left turns, and a right turn lane. Currently, the signal has a lane for through and left turns and a right turn lane.
The traffic signal is MoDOT-operated, Naunheim said, but the county will complete the reconfiguration.
“You’re going to have two lanes where you can make a left turn out of, which will really reduce congestion because almost everybody wants to make a left there,” Naunheim said. “What that’s caused is a situation where we have to rebuild the entire signal. It sounds simple, just add a right lane, but it’s snowballed. We’ve committed to doing it. It’s really going to help traffic get through there, especially at shift change times at the hospital.”
The southern portion of phase two will connect Calvary Church Road with Castle Acres Road, creating a new outer road from Airport Road to River Cement Road, which ends at Hwy. 61. Naunheim said this will effectively add another connection for traffic coming from the Hardie plant to Hwy. 61.
“One of the big benefits, we believe, is that it’s going to complete that outer road all the way from Airport Road down to Hwy. 61,” he said. “Before, it used to dead end right there at Calvary Church and used to dead end right before the Plattin Creek (at Castle Acres Road). Now there’s going to be connectivity, so if there’s congestion up there near the I-55, Hwy. 61-67 interchange, or near the (Mercy Jefferson) hospital, they’ve got another way out.”
Harness said he expects the southern portion of phase two to be put out for construction bids in February or March, with the anticipated completion date of late 2026.
Preparing for Hardie
The James Hardie company, based in Ireland, is a building materials manufacturer and the largest global producer of fiber cement siding and backboard, according to its website.
The company plans to invest $399 million in the Crystal City plant, according to state economic officials.
The 1.25 million-square-foot facility will employ 238 people, officials have reported.
Harness said he’s in regular contact with Hardie representatives to update them on the construction process.
Naunheim said Hardie will begin constructing the plant once a large majority or all of Project Redbird is completed.
“We meet with (Hardie officials) biweekly,” Harness said. “They ask us a bunch of questions – ‘How’s it going? How’s the property acquisition going? How is construction going? Will you be out for bid soon?’ They’re trying to gauge how soon they need to start building so everything can dovetail together.
“They can’t start bringing all of their construction traffic to work on a site if we don’t have the roads built yet.”
When Project Redbird is completed, the county expects more companies to look at land in the area to expand their businesses, Harness said.
“With the development coming in – big development in a small area – that interconnectivity ultimately makes that transportation network safer,” Harness said. “You don’t want one-way-in, one-way-outs all over here. If you’re sending in more traffic, that interconnectivity makes for a better transportation network.”