Kehrs Mill Road Rehab Scheduled

The Ballwin Board of Aldermen moved forward Monday with plans to resurface and add sidewalk to Kehrs Mill Road some time next year.

Up to roughly $1 million of the project’s cost is slated to be paid for with federal grant money, while the City of Ballwin will be responsible for the difference. City Engineer Gary Kramer estimated to the total project cost would be about $1.35 million.

The project will include replacing the top 4 inches of pavement on Kehrs Mill Road in Ballwin between Clayton and Holloway roads. Ballwin City Engineer Gary Kramer said construction likely will last a few months, but won’t begin until some time next year.

Kramer said heavy-duty machinery will assist with the repaving, but the bulk of the project’s hours will be spent installing sidewalks.

“6,000 feet of sidewalk is a slow process,” Kramer said. “There isn’t a lot of machine-work that does that.”

Kramer said the project is needed in part because of an excess of temporary patch work; when a water main along Kehrs Mill Road repeatedly broke years ago, Kramer said, work crews were forced to try to restore the road. Although steps were taken to ensure new pavement would be added, including through some curb and gutter replacement, grants to initiate the construction weren’t secured until recently.

“So, we took the opportunity,” Kramer said.

Kramer said sidewalks and bicycling signs were included with Ballwin’s proposal in order to make the application more competitive, because the Department of Transportation awards extra ‘points’ to applicants with more biker and pedestrian-friendly facilities.

“Which makes it more attractive and raised our chances of getting the money,” Kramer said. “There’s a lot of competition for this money.”

Kramer said that the City of Ballwin will host an informational meeting in May for residents whose properties will be affected by the construction, which will include designating sidestreets for parking.