Is The Schoettler Road Bridge in Need of Repair?

The paving may be new on the Schoettler Road Bridge over Creve Coeur Creek, but the structure underneath will soon need repair.

To help offset the estimated $2 million pricetag for replacing the aging bridge, the City of Chesterfield is submitting an application for $1.6 million in grant funds from the East-West Gateway’s Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) tha.

Planning and Public Works Director Mike Geisel said it’s important that the city stay on top of the 10-11 bridges it maintains.

“We do annual bridge inspections,” he said. “And it’s at the point where the inspections say, structurally, we need to consider replacing [the Schoettler Road Bridge] in the next several years.”

According to Transportation for America, the bridge was built in 1959 and carries an average of 9,470 cars per day.

There’s an $8,000 fee attached to the application that is refundable if it is denied, but City Manager Michael Herring expressed confidence in the city’s chances.

“We have a pretty good feeling that we will be successful in getting those grant funds, but it’s not our decision,” he said during a city council meeting March 4.

More immediately, the city has already acquired federal grant funds to pay for 80 percent of a $860,000 project to replace the Timberlake Manor Bridge over Creve Coeur Creek. Construction is expected to start in 2014, Geisel said.

The city is also applying for TIP funds to help with the completion of S. Outer 40 Road between Clarkson Road and E. Chesterfield Parkway. Geisel said filling in that gap is part of the city’s long-range planning and something that needs to be completed, especially in light of the large-scale development that is slated for the area.

“The benefit of doing that is as development occurs it will allow traffic to stay off of the Chesterfield Parkway,” he said. 

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