Comment Period Ends For MoDOT’s TIP Plan; East-West Board to Consider New Projects

The comment period for MoDOT’s Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) ended on Aug. 10. There are 230 new projects to the TIP this year, including the $100M potential Design Build on Interstate-270.  Other new major projects of interest in North St. Louis City and County consist of interchange improvements at I-70 and Lucas-Hunt and resurfacing and ADA improvements along MO 180 (St. Charles Rock Road) from I-270 to St. Louis City Limits. The final TIP will be submitted to the East-West Gateway Board of Directors for their consideration at the Aug. 31, meeting at 10 a.m.

   North County Inc. has listed some of the major highway and transportation priorities in the TIP plan. They include:

• The I-270 Corridor that NCI has established as a major highway priority and advocated to advance for several years now:  (I-270 Potential Design Build; EWG Project ID 6050I-17 (MoDOT Job number 6I3020B).
• Since 2010, the community has been working with MoDOT to study the I-270 North Corridor in St. Louis County. The I-270 North Environmental Assessment, which began in 2013, is anticipated to be completed by the end of the year.  This initiative has huge public support from our community organizations and our elected officials, businesses and other stakeholders in our community.
• The long-range transportation plan for the St. Louis Region includes improvements along the I-270 North Corridor as a priority for the region.
• I-270 is one of the most traveled corridors in the St. Louis metropolitan region. Much of the I-270 North Corridor was built in the 1960s and is reaching the point where significant rehabilitation or reconstruction is needed. If nothing is done to upgrade the corridor, the current traffic, safety and infrastructure conditions will continue to worsen.
• Phase 1 of the I-270 North Corridor project will be the first step to implement transportation improvements that address the safety, mobility, accessibility, and the aging infrastructure along the I-270 corridor.
• Allowing for innovative contracting methods, such as design-build, will enable the industry to identify the best solutions to accelerate the project’s delivery, reduce costs, and improve quality.
• Lastly, upgrading traffic operations, safety, and access will allow the North County community to leverage these transportation improvements to encourage economic revitalization.

Florissant Mayor Tom Schneider has urged that the highest priority be given to Pavement and Bridge improvements on the I-270 North Corridor between Lindbergh and New Halls Ferry. In a letter, he sent on the subject, the mayor stated:

“The Florissant Road Overpass is in deplorable condition requiring the installation of netting under the infrastructure to protect vehicles passing underneath from being crushed by falling concrete spilling off the underside of the structure. Other overpasses are also in bad need of replacement.

There has been a dire need to increase the capacity of I-270 for many years and it is particularly log jammed east bound every business day evening causing bumper to bumper traffic for miles. This congestion leads to unnecessary pollution and waste of fuel and time and is a distraction to commerce in and around the City of Florissant.”

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