Road work ahead in Chesterfield

The intersections of the improved Route 141 with Ladue Road and Olive Blvd. will effectively become the eastern gateways to the city of Chesterfield when the road project is completed later this year. And Chesterfield officials want the city to make a positive first impression on motorists traveling into the community.

Mike Geisel, Chesterfield’s public works director, anticipates the city will spend $400,000 – $800,000 on identification panels, landscaping and other efforts at the intersections. Chesterfield already is working with the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) to anticipate what the city wants to do after the state agency completes the roadwork, he said.

“We don’t want to get in the way of MoDOT’s contractors while they are working but neither does anyone want to re-do anything when the project is complete,” Geisel said.

Work still remains on project details.

Geisel discussed Chesterfield’s intentions during a talk at a meeting of the Chesterfield Valley Coalition, a group formed to bring a business perspective to development in the area. He also gave an update on other infrastructure projects either underway or upcoming, including:

• Baxter Road improvement – St. Louis County expects project completion this fall. And while the road has remained open thus far, a closure of about 90 days is planned this summer in the Creve Coeur Creek area where work will be done on a crossing.

• Edison Road – Plans call for an asphalt overlay on the segment between Long and Baxter roads. Bids will be sought this spring, and work will be done during the summer.

• Appalachian Trail – Bids will be sought this spring on reconstruction work planned between Olive and Beaver Creek Road.

• Daniel Boone Bridge improvements – Completion of a new eastbound span south of the current eastbound structure is expected in 2015. The current eastbound bridge then will handle westbound traffic and the old westbound span will be razed.

• Improvements in the area where Long, Wild Horse Creek and Kehr’s Mill roads come together – Again, roads have remained open thus far, but construction-related traffic delays do occur. Beginning June 15, Wild Horse Creek will be closed for 30 days at the Kehr’s Mill intersection for bridge-related work. Geisel said the overall project was helped when the local Transportation Development District pledged money for a contingency fund that St. Louis County was unwilling to support.

“A time-sensitive project like this had to have a contingency fund because it would be impractical to stop everything and wait until funding was applied for and received whenever an unexpected situation arose,” Geisel said.

A public informational meeting on the project will be held at 6 p.m. on Jan. 25 at Chesterfield City Hall.

Noting his 23 years in Chesterfield, Geisel said, “We’re now seeing the culmination of long-range plans that were in place many years ago. That speaks well of having such plans in place, sticking to them and avoiding ad hoc decisions on everything that comes up.”