OAKVILLE, Mo. – Baumgartner Road in south St. Louis County is badly in need of repair, and residents have long complained of the poor pavement and potholes.
“It’s bumpy, bumpy, bumpy. It’s awful!” Carolyn Conway said. “It’s been like this for 25 years!”
They contacted FOX 2 to voice their frustration and seek a remedy after getting no help elsewhere.
“It’s an ongoing problem, Elliott. The road, the surface of the road, literally the topping is off as you go farther toward Lemay Ferry from Telegraph,” Fred Crawford said. “The road is potholed, it’s unrepaired! Travelers have to constantly move around on the road because of the potholes and the mess!”
FOX 2 met with Councilman Ernie Trakas, who represents the area.
“Baumgartner is like many, many roads throughout the county,” he said. “No one’s denying that the roads are in terrible condition.
The councilman said a lot of the trouble is beyond the St. Louis County Transportation Department’s control.
“Do I wish it could have been done already? Absolutely. But I understand the predicament transportation and public works are in,” Trakas said. “They have too many roads to keep up, not enough money to do it on any realistic basis.”
The Transportation Department declined to appear on camera but did send a statement, which you can read at the end of this story.
They said a certain stretch of Baumgartner is below average, rating it a 3 on a 10-point scale.
But there may be hope. There is a resurfacing project for Baumgartner on the horizon. It will cost $1.9 million. There’s a catch. The project wouldn’t start until late 2025 or early 2026. Some residents say that’s too long to wait.
St. Louis County’s Department of Transportation has a $1.9 million Baumgartner Road improvement/resurfacing project that we expect to begin in late 2025/early 2026. The limits of the project are from Old Baumgartner Road – at its eastern intersection with Baumgartner – to Telegraph (a total of seven-tenths of a mile).
The pavement of this stretch of Baumgartner is below average; we have it rated at “3” on a scale of ’10,’ with ‘10’ being pristine. Although improvements certainly are warranted on this road, the reality is that we are chronically underfunded, and have far more improvement/maintenance needs, including roads with worse pavement than Baumgartner, than the funds to pay for them.
Combined with ever-escalating construction costs, this backlog has stretched our collective dollar to the snapping point.
We understand that motorists are frustrated. However, we can’t spend money that doesn’t exist.
We respectfully decline your interview request.
David G. Wrone, spokesman for St. Louis County’s Departments of Transportation and Public Works
