St. Louis County Wins $18.2 Million Grant for St. Louis Promise Zone Corridor

St. Louis County has been awarded an $18.2 million federal grant to transform West Florissant Avenue into a marquee corridor within the St. Louis Promise Zone. The funds will be used to rebuild 1.5 miles of West Florissant Avenue, from Stein Road to Ferguson Avenue, through the towns of Ferguson and Dellwood. The project includes road and sidewalk enhancements, providing better access points to businesses along the corridor and creating shared-use paths for cyclists and pedestrians. The work also will include upgrading traffic signals, adding crosswalks, and installing medians. Sidewalks will be made ADA compliant.

“Our St. Louis Promise Zone team has worked with our community partners and St. Louis County to help this project come to fruition,” said Rodney Crim, CEO and President of the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership. “We know how valuable these improvements will be to the community.”

West Florissant Avenue is one of the major thoroughfares in St. Louis County, carrying 30,000 vehicles per day. However, in its current state, West Florissant caters to car-oriented transportation and fails to meet the needs of the many people in the community who do not have access to a vehicle.

Studies have shown that over 1,000 pedestrians access this busy corridor every day, putting themselves in harm’s way as they walk, bike, and take public transit to jobs, grocery stores, healthcare appointments and other vital destinations.

“Designating and funding West Florissant as a Great Streets project in the cities of Ferguson and Dellwood will enhance mobility and safety on the route and, consequently, improve economic conditions in a community that for many years has endured disinvestment and neglect,” said Dr. Sam Page, St. Louis County Executive.

Since 2014, there has been tremendous investment along West Florissant, including the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, the Boys and Girls Club of Greater St. Louis and a new Mercy Clinic, which opened earlier this year.

“This street is more than a carrier of vehicles,” Page said. “It represents what is possible. It represents history that cannot be our future.”

Construction should begin in spring of 2024 with completion scheduled for the summer of 2026.