MoDOT halts work on Chesterfield curb bump out islands

CHESTERFIELD, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Transportation has paused work on a road safety project in parts of Chesterfield following driver complaints.

Every day, Rob Urish drives down Long Road in Chesterfield and past curb bump out islands on his way to work.

"I've seen them coming up and, initially, I thought they were for pedestrian safety," he said.

Urish eventually found out they are not for pedestrian safety. MoDOT started installing curb bump out islands on Long and Clarkson roads earlier this year to make the roadway feel narrower. A MoDOT spokesperson said studies show when the road feels narrower, drivers will slow down.

"I think that study might've been done by concrete construction companies," Urish said.

MoDOT said traffic calming like this reduces crashes by a third. But Urish and others worry these create a new traffic hazard for drivers and emergency vehicles.

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Daily News State Representative Ben Keathley wrote MoDOT asking for a review of the project.

"The most important thing to me is that first responders, police, firemen, EMS drivers aren't going to be hindered in doing their jobs," Keathley wrote. "If they are, then there's no question in my mind that this project needs to be reversed, and those things need to come out."

A MoDOT spokesperson told FOX 2, "MoDOT is further evaluating this contract, working with local officials, and will provide follow up with more information in the next week or two."

Until then, MoDOT said there will be no new construction. Drivers might see crews install more delineators or painting part of the islands to increase visibility.

Keathley said he is happy to see that MoDOT is now scheduling meetings with community stakeholders.

"There is a process for contacting the local community, certainly first responders, EMS drivers, police officers; local officials need to be aware of what's going on because it's on their local roads," he said.

Before starting the work, MoDOT studied five years of crash data. In that period, it found 872 crashes on these parts of Long and Clarkson. They estimated the islands would reduce that number by more than 200 over the next five years. Urish is not convinced.

The curb bump out islands are part of a much larger $50 million MoDOT safety project.

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