South County Connector Meetings Will Unveil New Road Plans

The St. Louis County Department of Highways and Traffic has scheduled two more open house meetings on the proposed South County Connector road project for this week.

The project includes an environmental impact and location study for potential new roads to reduce traffic congestion on roads like River Des Peres Boulevard, Laclede Station Road, Hanley Road and Big Bend Boulevard, and to improve access to Interstates 44, 64, 55 and 170. The study area includes much of Shrewsbury, as well as parts of Maplewood, Webster Groves and South St. Louis city.

The first meeting is 4-7 p.m. Tuesday at , 9801 Mackenzie Rd. in Affton.

The second is 4-7 p.m. Thursday at , 5200 Shrewsbury Ave.

State Rep. John Diehl Jr. said in a press release that preliminary, conceptual plans will be presented at the meetings.

“These meetings are the primary opportunity for citizens to view the alternatives, learn about the factors considered in the analysis, and share their thoughts,” Diehl wrote.

In an email sent out to Shrewsbury residents last Thursday, Shrewsbury Director of Administration Jonathan Greever said that some of the alternatives being considered could “tremendously impact the state of community life in the City of Shrewsbury.”

The email included a statement by Shrewsbury Mayor Felicity Buckley, who, along with Board of Alderman President Elmer Kauffmann, attended a meeting to preview the proposed routes.

“Alderman Kauffmann and I support the River Des Peres extension as this route will have the least amount of negative impact on Shrewsbury and would result in less traffic going through the neighborhood. All other routes will have a direct impact on property owners and would increase the amount of traffic going through our neighborhood,” Buckley said.

An was held Dec. 9.

The County Department of Highways and Traffic is sponsoring the project in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration, which has final approval authority for the project.