Counties Impacted
St. Louis City
Work Type
Interchange Improvements
Completed

Project Milestones

Complete
Environmental Assessment

As part of any major project, the department is required to evaluate the impact of that project upon the area, including environmental, residential, historical and cultural.

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Complete
Complete design

With the environmental process complete, MoDOT is working on the final design on the project

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Complete
Determine Funding

MoDOT has identified funding for the portion of the project on state-maintained roadways.

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Complete
Construction begins

Construction for the I-64 at Jefferson project started in August 2020.  Ideally, all work would be complete by  late summer 2022.

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What is the problem?

The section of I-64 in St. Louis City between 21st Street and Compton is one of the last sections of the interstate that remains as the original interstate construction from the late 1950s and early 1960s. Although the Jefferson Avenue bridge is new, other interstate bridges on the corridor are old and need to be replaced. In addition, the entrances and exits to the interstate and the surrounding city grid are out of date, built for a time with significantly less traffic. Updating this interchange will help reduce existing congestion and improve safety by giving traffic more options to move around and through the city.

Work on this interchange also offers MoDOT and the city to take advantage of the opportunity to reduce the overall impact of the roadway system and open up excess space for new development opportunities in the city.  It will also allow MoDOT and the city to support the transportation needs for the future location of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which has committed to relocating to the St. Louis Place neighborhood (North Jefferson and Cass Avenues) in 2022. 

MoDOT and St. Louis City are partnering to make improvements to the roadway system.  Some of these improvements include:

  • A full interchange on I-64 between 21st Street and Jefferson
  • Exit ramp from westbound I-64 to 22nd Street; entrance ramp from Jefferson to westbound I-64.
  • Exit ramp from eastbound I-64 to Jefferson; entrance ramp from 22nd Street to eastbound I-46
  • Connections between the interstate ramps at Jefferson and 22nd Street.
  • Intersection improvements on Jefferson at Chouteau, Scott, Clark and Market
  • Intersection Improvements along 22nd Street at Scott, Clark, Market, Pine and Olive
  • Bike facilities along portions of Jefferson, Scott, and 20th Street connecting into neighborhood greenways.
  • Removal of the ramp from westbound I-64 to 3000 Market and removal of the ramp from Ewing to eastbound I-64.

 

What modes of transportation will be addressed?

This project will look at improving bicycle, pedestrian and vehicle traffic in the area.

What is the NGA?

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is the nation's primary source of geospatial intelligence for the Department of Defense and the U.S. intelligence community. It provides support to U.S. national security and defense, as well as disaster relief.  It is moving from its current location in Soulard to the St. Louis Place neighborhood at N. Jefferson and Cass Avenues in 2022.

What is Project Connect?

Project Connect is a City of St. Louis initiative to study the potential benefits and impacts the relocation of NGA will have on surrounding neighborhoods and future development. It is focused on eight neighborhoods; the project’s goal is to identify priority investments that will help keep existing residents and businesses in the area and encourage new growth in the future.  One of the priority investments identified was the need for improvements to this interchange.

What are the next steps?

Construction continues on the project, with the ramp from Jefferson to eastbound I-64 remaining to be completed, as well as some other finishing touches.