ST. LOUIS – Major road improvements are underway right now along a main road very close to the new NGA West campus in north St. Louis. We’re talking about Jefferson Avenue between James Cool Papa Bell and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard.
Crews have been working along the half-mile stretch of Jefferson Avenue at 5:00 a.m. The first step is for crews to do what’s called ‘milling’ Jefferson Avenue. That means they are taking up about three inches of the current roadway, which is in pretty rough condition, and then they will repave it with a new three-inch surface.
Crews will do the southbound direction first, then switch to the northbound. They hope to finish both directions on Tuesday. Nick Dunne, a spokesperson for Mayor Tishaura Jones, told FOX 2 that this work is part of a long-running infrastructure project around the new NGA West campus.
Dunne said besides a new driving surface, the improvements include new sidewalks, medians, streetlights, bike lanes, and more.
Jefferson is already a busy roadway, and it’s only going to get busier with the new NGA West eventually opening.
Here is some of what the paving superintendent with Gershenson Construction told FOX 2 earlier.
“Jefferson Avenue has been so rough for so long – it’s needed this for so long,” Gerhenson said. “It’s going to make the ride so much more enjoyable, the aesthetics of it. It’s going to look nicer; it’s going to have new striping; it’s just going to be better for everybody. You talk about people losing front ends with the potholes and the things that were out here. That’s going to be gone for many, many years.”
Jefferson is not closing as part of this work, but drivers can expect some delays. Construction on the $1.7 billion NGA West campus is set to be finished next year.
Then staff are scheduled to move there from the current NGA site in Soulard in 2026.
