Missouri Route 340 Pavement Resurfacing in St. Louis County

What is the problem?

Route 340 (Clarkson Road) between Lea Oak and Route 100 needs some maintenance attention.  Due to age, the roadway has reached the point where it needs repair and resurfacing to ensure it remains operational for the foreseeable future.. 

This is also the opportunity to consider possible safety improvements along the corridor – speeding and aggressive driving are relatively prevalent along the corridor, and crash rates are higher than along this corridor than along other, similar corridors in the state.

Many of the crashes along Clarkson are rear-end crashes, which can signify traffic going too fast for the conditions, not paying attention, or following too closely to the vehicle in front of you. Although they seem like simply a nuisance, they can significantly impact corridor flow during congested periods and can tie up municipal emergency response partners.

What is the current plan?

At a minimum, MoDOT is planning to resurface Route 340 between Lea Oak and Route 100 (Manchester) as well as rebuild or upgrade several of the signals along the corridor. 

In addition, after public concerns about recent safety updates along the corridor, the department promised to listen to concerns from the public about this stretch of roadway and determine if any additional improvements for corridor safety could be included in this project or included in a future project.

What are the projected impacts to the roadway due to construction?

Some of the signal work needs to be completed during the day to ensure the safety of both the traveling public and the workers. Any work that requires lane closures will be done outside of peak periods. The department plans to keep the roadway open during rush periods to reduce additional congestion. Due to traffic levels, resurfacing work will most likely be done at night. Crews will close one lane in either direction through the resurfacing, although there will always be one lane open in either direction. Although this will have noise impacts to the residents living near the corridor, night work reduces the overall impact to traffic, as traffic levels are significantly lower.

What about improvements that cannot be included?

Safety is a high priority for the department, so any possible improvements that may be discussed could be included on future projects as funding becomes available.  

Any planned changes to the bike lanes?

There are no planned changes to the bike lanes.  The existing bike lanes will be repainted and no existing bike lanes are planned to be removed.