The ride on Howdershell Road in Florissant and Hazelwood should be smoother beginning this spring. The county road will get a makeover from south of Behlmann Lane to Charbonier Road in a $1.6 million project that starts this spring.

The project includes replacing deteriorating pavement, joints, curbs, ramps and sidewalks; re-surfacing and texturing pavement and installing an asphalt-concrete overlay, according to a news release from the City of Florissant.

The contractor will install 114 accessible curb ramps that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act standards. The stretch of road is about 2.5 miles long.

David Wrone, a spokesman for St. Louis County Department of Highways and Traffic, said the Howdershell Road sections will be replaced with concrete. Most of the project is an asphalt-concrete overlay, he said.

Wrone said the county would use a new “Superpave” process on Howdershell.

“It’s a new process, and it’s more expensive, but we’re willing to see what kind of success we have with it,” Wrone said. “The life span on the road should be significant, about eight to 10 years.”

The road will remain open during construction, but there will be delays. Construction will take about nine months, and all work is to be completed by the end of December.

The county will fund the project through its Transportation Trust Fund, with part of the expense reimbursed by the federal government.

The project was awarded to Pace Construction Co.