ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. –St. Louis County is planning to spend nearly $43M on road projects this year, but ongoing budget concerns and inflation’s impact on construction costs have led to the county canceling $26.6M of road projects planned over the next five years.
"There are a lot of projects we would like to do but we just don't have all the funds we need to do them,” explained St. Louis County Executive Sam Page during a morning briefing.
Page said inflation has elevated the cost of road and bridge projects by more than 70% over the assumptions the Department of Transportation and Public Works made when it drafted its budget at the beginning of the year.
“The federal infrastructure bill has the unintended consequence of causing construction costs to surge as demand for labor and supplies has escalated,” Page said.
He also mentioned that competition for skilled labor in our region and across the county has intensified, resulting in higher wages and labor costs.
“We can’t do nearly as many projects as we’ve planned,” added Page.
These are five of the bigger projects St. Louis County will tackle this year:
- $5M: Allen Road Bridge (West St. Louis County)
- $3.9M: Midland Blvd. between Page and Canton (University City)
- $4.7M: Westport Plaza Dr. and Marine Ave (Maryland Heights)
- $2.3M Bayless Ave. (South St. Louis County)
- $1.9M Lackland Rd. (Maryland Heights)
The county executive further explained there are more than $200M of unmet needs in the department’s capital plan but it only has $40M to spend each year. He explained the department grades each road on a scale of one to ten, and roads start getting replaced when they are a three or four. You can view all the projects in the design phase or under construction here.
Page also pointed to the county’s budget deficit of $40M as a factor. He said while revenues are coming in a little stronger than expected so far in 2023, the county is still carrying a “significant structural deficit.”
He said the county can’t keep operating with a deficit without new revenue streams, cuts to services or a combination of the two.
“It is not sustainable, and it's not good for the financial health of our county,” said Page.
A budget work group is meeting each week to look at each department’s revenue streams, vacancies and which services might be able to be cut.
Page says there will be town hall meetings planned later this year so residents can weigh in on options.