Plans to build a third lane on I-55 between Pevely and Festus took a step forward on June 2 after the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission approved the concept as a design-build project.
The commission, which oversees the Missouri Department of Transportation, gave the approval during a meeting at the Jefferson County Administration Center in Hillsboro.
MoDOT officials long have been studying ways to upgrade I-55 from the Hwy. Z interchange at Pevely to the Hwy. 67 interchange south of Festus.
The project, estimated to cost as much as $120 million, has been included in the 2022 state Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) approved by the East-West Gateway Coordinating Council of Governments, which coordinates road projects in the St. Louis region.
While construction is not expected to begin for at least a couple of years, Tom Blair, the St. Louis District engineer, said the action on June 2 gets the ball rolling.
“This is a big first step,” he said.
The approval allows MoDOT to seek civil engineering firms to submit their plans for the project, and those firms will recruit a contractor to build from those specifications.
Once those plans are submitted, Blair said, the Highways and Transportation Commission will choose one.
“It’s the way we did work on I-64 in St. Louis,” Blair said.
Typically, either the MoDOT staff or an outside firm designs a construction project, and then a contractor is chosen through a competitive bidding process.
According to MoDOT’s website, the design-build model allows for speed and flexibility, especially in projects that may have multiple solutions.
“We’re pleased that this long-needed project is getting underway,” Blair said.
The six-member commission also heard presentations by David Courtway, Jefferson County’s director of administration, about the county’s road system and the need for MoDOT to do more locally.
Courtway said traffic fatalities in Jefferson County have, over the last three years, been 27 percent higher than the state average.
“Improving our interstates improves safety and sparks economic growth,” he said.
Patrick McKenna, MoDOT director, praised the input that Jefferson County leaders have given his agency concerning problem spots.
“We can’t do anything at the state level without good community leaders who think not just of the current fiscal year, but years down the line,” he said. “We stand ready to help solve these fatality problems.”
Jim McNichols, executive director of the Jefferson County Port Authority, and Mary Lamie, executive vice president of multimodal enterprises for the Bi-State Development Agency, briefed the commission on progress concerning the container-on-vessel port to be built in Herculaneum.
Commissioner Michael Waters said he enjoyed the presentation.
“This is exciting stuff to me,” he said. “I’ve been hearing about container-on-vessel since they started to work (to improve) the Panama Canal.”
The Missouri General Assembly included $25 million in the state budget for the Jefferson County Port Authority to help with the project in Herculaneum.
The budget awaits the signature of Gov. Mike Parson to become official.
County Councilwoman Renee Reuter (District 2, Imperial) implored the commission to help address flooding problems in Jefferson County, particularly on I-55, Hwy. 21 and Hwy. 30, all of which can be cut off during major flooding events on the Meramec River.
“Urgent change is needed in these areas,” she said.
Blair said the commission had been holding its meetings at various sites around the state before the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to meet virtually, and has only recently begun a schedule of meeting sites outside Jefferson City.
“Since he was first elected four years ago, (Jefferson County Executive) Dennis Gannon has been pushing for a meeting in Jefferson County. It’s great that they’re here. And this is definitely very well attended,” Blair said of the gathering of about 80 people for the three-hour meeting.