West Newsmagazine 2-21-18

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February 21, 2018
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE
I NEWS I 13
Wildwood to add right-turn lane into Community Park off Hwy. 100
By JESSICA MESZAROS
“If you build it, they will come” – unless
visibility and traffic flow is an issue.
That’s the lesson city planners learned in
Wildwood after opening Community Park
at 2153 Hwy. 109, near that highway’s
intersection with State Route [Hwy.] 100.
“It became clear to us after the first phase
of the park was completed that there was
the need for a turn lane there,” City Engineer
Rick Brown said, referring to the north
side of State Route 100 where a right-turn
lane will be added.
An ordinance authorizing the mayor to
execute a contract with Krupp Construction,
L.L.C. for the right-turn lane was
approved by a 15-0 City Council vote on
Feb. 12, with Councilmember Greg Alexander
[Ward 6] absent.
According to Brown, the lane will measure
about 600 feet in length and begin just
west of the current Hwy. 109 entrance onto
State Route 100. The addition of a right-turn
lane means vehicles coming from Hwy. 109
no longer will have to immediately merge
onto State Route 100 to enter the park.
The addition of the new lane also means
a new shoulder area, measuring about 700
feet long, will be constructed.
Directions to the park, on the city’s website,
indicate two entry points: the main
entrance accessed by taking Hwy. 109
to Pond Grover Loop Road [just north of
State Route 100] and a secondary entrance
located off westbound State Route 100,
west of Hwy. 109. To use the main entrance,
visitors are advised to go west at the roundabout
on Pond Grover Loop Road and
straight into the park. Would-be visitors
are advised that the secondary entrance is
the first right-hand driveway after the State
Route 100/Hwy. 109 intersection.
City planners hope the new lane will
increase visibility to the park access area.
Bids for the project were solicited in
December 2017 with six bids received.
The lowest bid submitted was from Krupp
Construction, L.L.C., based in Ellisville.
“They’re a local contractor, and they’ve
worked with the city a great deal,” Brown
said. He specifically noted the contractor’s
involvement with the replacement of the
Fox Creek Road bridge and its assistance
with other rights-of-way contracting efforts.
The council’s Administrative and Public
Works Committee reviewed the bids and
recommended awarding a contract to
Krupp Construction, L.L.C in the amount
of $171,816.40 with a $28,183.60 contingency
for additional work as identified by
the department.
According to Brown, construction on the
turn lane is slated to begin around March 1
and be completed by June 1.
LAKE CHESTERFIELD, from page 11
The basin has had problems in the past.
The man-made structure, built in 1987,
developed a major sinkhole in 2004 that
drained the lake of millions of gallons of
water in just a few days. Since then, the
association has spent over $200,000 for
ongoing lake repairs, including a $155,000
repair to the belly of the lake two years ago.
“The committee and board at the time did
everything they could to repair the sinkhole
and revive the lake,” McCune said.
The cost for the geophysical study is
$35,000, but the direct budgetary impact
of the project to the city would be about
$25,727. Funds used for the project will
not be sourced from taxpayers, they are
covered by a special escrow collected by
St. Louis County over 20 years ago. The
remaining 26 percent of the cost, about
$9,273, will be paid by the LCHOA.
“There has not been a study like this done
before, and we think this could have been
done before to get an answer to the problem,”
subdivision resident George Lindh said.
The selection of Anderson was made
by the LCHOA committee. According to
Vujnich, Anderson has two contracts – one
with the city and another with the LCHOA.
“These residents have been waiting for
something like this to help, and now something
is happening,” Councilmember Joe
Garritano [Ward 8] said.