Districts Impacted
From 2016-2020, there were 5, 321 fatal and serious injury crashes in the City of St. Louis, St. Louis County, and Jefferson County.
The Safety Improvements Project is being developed to reduce fatal and serious injury crashes in MoDOT’s St. Louis District for pedestrians and other roadway users. This project is a partnership between MoDOT and St. Louis County. This project will involve work on MoDOT routes within the city of St. Louis, St. Louis County and Jefferson County. It will also include work on St. Louis County roads.
The Safety Improvements Project will benefit pedestrians and other roadway users at more than 230 locations. Each location will have one or more (up to five) safety improvements ranging from pavement and signal upgrades to additional signing, which are treatments all shown to help reduce crashes.
Project Goals
- Reduce fatal and serious injury crashes within the budget of $52 million.
- Maximize safety improvements for pedestrians and roadway users distributed equitably across the project area.
- Provide improvements with reasonable maintenance and service life.
- Construct improvements with an emphasis on safety for workers and the traveling public.
- Deliver the project by June 30, 2026 using a diverse workforce.
Project Milestones
MoDOT's Safety Improvements Project has evaluated the SOQs and selected teams to compete for the Design-Build project:
- Gershenson Construction Co with Wilson & Company, Bartlett & West
- West Contracting Co with Horner & Shifrin, Lochmueller Group, Engineering Design Services
Shortlisted teams including Gershenson Construction Co with Wilson & Company, Bartlett & West, West Contracting Co with Horner & Shifrin, Lochmueller Group, Engineering Design Services will be available to discuss proposals. Click here to view DBE Flyer.
The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission approved the recommendation for the West Contracting team on Wednesday, January 3. Their design-build team had the highest scoring proposal which will include installing more than 435 safety improvements at nearly 235 locations such as signing, guardrail, and signal improvements. There are 31 different types of countermeasures that will be installed.
The first phase of construction started with installing large chevrons with reflective signposts strips on April 1,2024.
Summer 2026
A Lifesaving Partnership Booklet
From 2016-2020, there were 5,321 fatal and serious injury crashes in the City of St. Louis, St. Louis County and Jefferson County. The Missouri Department of Transportation and St. Louis County have joined together to reduce crashes in these three areas.
What are we doing?
The Missouri Department of Transportation will start construction in the summer of 2024 for the $52 million safety improvements project. The project will feature safety upgrades in St. Louis County, St. Louis, and Jefferson County. The focus is to reduce crashes resulting in deaths and serious injuries. More than 325 improvements will be installed at nearly 235 locations. There are 31 different types of safety improvements that will be implemented at these various locations. The project is expected to be completed by Late 2026.
What are the traffic impacts?
Over half of work will be completed by the end of 2024. Most of the work will have minimal traffic impacts and will not involve long-term closures or detours. A few locations will require short-term closures, but work can be completed during off-peak day or nighttime hours.
SL Safety Improvements Presentation
What kind of safety improvements will be implemented?
The goal of this project is to improve systemic safety for pedestrians and other roadway users on select corridors in the city of Saint Louis, Jefferson County and St. Louis County. Some of the safety improvements that will be completed include guardrail and traffic signal upgrades, centerline rumble strips and medians, median bump-outs, and other traffic calming measures.
What are safety countermeasures?
Countermeasures prevent or reduce the severity of crashes by warning drivers of changing road conditions and alerting drivers to be aware and cautious of pedestrians sharing the road. These measures also assist with controlling errant drivers that are distracted.
Why is this project Design-Build?
Design-build is a delivery method that includes hiring one contracting team to complete the design work and build the highway improvement under one contract. MoDOT provides the project goals, budget and schedule and the contractor team completes the work. This technique has been known to significantly save time and provide cost savings. MoDOT will oversee and inspect construction throughout the duration of the project.
West Contracting Company, Horner and Shifrin, Inc., Lochmueller Group, and Engineering Design Source, Inc. were selected as the contractor for the project at January’s Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission (MHTC) meeting in 2024.
Will any public meetings take place?
Public meetings may be held for locations that may have a high impact to traffic and/or residents. While construction began April 1, 2024, the safety improvements constructed so far have little to no impact on traffic patterns either during or after construction such signal backplates and chevron signs. These improvements do not require traffic detours and can be completed during a one-day time frame at various locations. They also do not change existing traffic patterns after construction. MoDOT will keep local residents, pedestrians, and motorists aware of any schedule changes and detours as the project progresses on our website.
Why is MoDOT installing islands in the shoulder of roadways?
Speeding drivers are more likely to cause a crash, and those crashes are more likely to be severe. Studies show that drivers will drive more slowly on narrower roads. Encouraging slower driving (called “traffic calming”) reduces the frequency and severity of crashes.
Sign up for email updates:
To leave a comment, please fill out form below: