St. Louis County Presenting Shackelford Road Project Plan

More than a year after the St. Louis County Department of Highways and Traffic heard residents opinions on Shackelford Road, the department will present its plan to improve the roadway.

The county department will host an open house Wednesday at the John F. Kennedy Community Center from 4 to 7 p.m.

The proposed plans included:

Solution No. 1: Two-way Center Left Turn Lane

Shackelford Road would be widened from four to five lanes between Charbonier Road and Humes Lane. The center lane would be a two-way, left-turn lane.

Solution No. 2: Roundabouts

A median would divide Shackelford Road from Charbonier Road to Humes except at the four intersections at Charbonier, Lindsay Lane, Mullanphy Road and Humes Lane, which now have traffic lights.

Instead of traffic lights, two-lane roundabouts would be built at each of the four intersections.

Solution No. 3: U-turns

As with solution No. 2, a median would divide Shackelford from Charbonier to Humes. However, instead of roundabouts, Spector said the department would use U-turn lanes, also known as “jug handles,” at the four major intersections.

The U-turn lanes are used on Lindbergh Boulevard between St. Charles Rock Road and Manchester roads.

There would be two through lanes on Shackelford, and left turns would be prohibited.

The road improvement plans came about as more than 250 accidents happened on the roadway between 2008 and 2010. According to the department’s website, the road has one of the highest crash rates in the county and is 10 percent higher than the level considered to be “high priority.”

More than 200 residents attended that meeting to provide input. In a poll conducted by Patch, 67 percent of respondents preferred Solution No. 1, which is the plan that the department plans to enact. The plan also includes a 13-foot wide bicycle lane on each side as well as Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant sidewalks and curb-ramps.

The open house will provide an opportunity for residents to get a better understanding of the selection and the plans for the project.

In a previous article, it was stated this plan would need 7 feet of property from both sides of the roadway, according to Adam Spector, engineer and project manager for the department.

The department will use federal funds for the project, according to the website.

Comments on the plan can be made at the open house or by filling out the comment sheet and sending to  August "Gus" Heck, Jr. P.E., 121 S. Meramec Avenue, Clayton, Missouri 63105 or emailing HPlanning@stlouisco.com.