St. Louis County outlines Old Halls Ferry Road overhaul: road diet, bike lanes and signal upgrades
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Summary
St. Louis County presented a public update on plans to rehabilitate about 1.67 miles of Old Halls Ferry Road, including resurfacing, a road diet to reduce speeding, new bike lanes, ADA curb ramps and signal technology; design continues through 2026 with construction planned for 2029 and an estimated cost of about $8.4 million.
St. Louis County Department of Transportation staff presented a public update on a 1.67-mile rehabilitation of Old Halls Ferry Road, saying the project would resurface pavement, add bike lanes, upgrade pedestrian crossings and modernize traffic signals.
The county’s project video said the corridor extends from New Halls Ferry Road to Vale Avenue and listed safety-focused changes including a road diet (reducing four travel lanes to two with turn lanes), separate bike lanes in the outer lanes, reconstructed ADA-compliant curb ramps and flashing yellow arrows at left-turn locations. The video gave an estimated total cost of "approximately $8,400,000," and said federal reimbursement during construction is expected to lower county taxpayer costs by more than $6,700,000.
Why it matters: county planners said the design is meant to reduce speeding and weaving on this multilane corridor while improving access for people walking and biking. Staff said the road diet and added medians will narrow travel lanes, widen bike buffers and create safer crossing opportunities near schools and other destinations.
Glenn Henninger, who manages planning and programming for St. Louis County Transportation, described the safety rationale in response to a resident’s question about speeding and heavy truck traffic. "In St. Louis County overall, and this has been a national issue, speeding is a problem everywhere," Henninger said, adding that models showed a single travel lane in each direction with turn pockets runs without creating unacceptable congestion while removing passing opportunities that encourage higher speeds. He said the county added more medians after public feedback to discourage illegal passing in the bike buffer.
Project details: the video said resurfacing and bike lanes will begin east of Shackleford Road and continue eastward with curb ramps rebuilt at multiple cross streets (Secretariat Drive, Affirmed Drive, Kentucky Derby Drive, Sport of Kings Road, Ascot Downs Way, Breeders' Cup Drive, Triple Crown Drive and Portland Lake Drive). It noted signal and curb ramp replacements at Grand National Drive and a school pickup/drop-off lane and new crosswalk signals at Barrington Elementary School. The presentation also stated the bike lanes will end at Kevinsure Drive and resurfacing will end between Kevinsure and Vale.
Timeline and budget: staff said conceptual design is complete, design engineering will continue through 2026 with property acquisition beginning that year. The county expects to finalize design, advertise the work for bids in 2028 and begin construction in 2029. County materials estimated the total cost at about $8.4 million and said federal reimbursement during construction should reduce local costs by more than $6.7 million.
Resident concerns and staff responses: an attendee reported cracks in condominium ceilings they attributed to speeding; Jeff Davis, project manager supervisor, said overlaying the existing concrete with asphalt and removing concrete joints ‘‘will ultimately improve the ride and get rid of that banging you’re experiencing possibly from that.’’ Diane Lee, the county multimedia manager, repeatedly encouraged people to take a short online survey about bike lanes posted on the project web page and noted the survey runs through April 3.
Access and follow-up: multiple attendees said they could not access the chat while calling in by phone. Staff said the webinar is configured to use chat to limit interruptions, that phone callers sometimes lack chat access and that they will consult IT to improve call-in functionality. Adam Spector, North and West area engineer for the department, posted contact information in the chat for people who want a direct follow-up.
Next steps: staff invited residents to two additional virtual public meetings on Old Halls Ferry Road (March 30, 1–2 p.m., and April 2, 5–6 p.m.) and urged people to use the project web page and survey for feedback. The county said it will proceed with design through 2026 and begin property acquisition that year, with bidding expected in 2028 and construction planned for 2029.
