The Mehlville Board of Education last week voted to approve an $80,000 contract with the Missouri Department of Transportation to install a traffic signal at the joint entrance of Wohlwend Elementary and Oak-ville Middle schools.
The board had voted in March to authorize Superintendent Terry Noble to negotiate an offer with MoDOT to install a signal on Telegraph Road at its intersection with the Oakville Middle-Wohlwend shared campus.
Previous estimates of the district’s share of this project exceeded $300,000 and the $80,000 agreement is a reduction of $220,000 from those original estimates.
MoDOT anticipates the total project cost to be roughly $251,000, according to a news release issued by the Mehlville School District. The traffic signal will include a pedestrian crosswalk and will be fully operational throughout the day.
Noble stated in the news release the district’s capital maintenance fund pays for building and grounds projects, such as roofing or asphalt work.
The district’s cost to MoDOT for a traffic signal wouldn’t directly affect operating expenses, according to Noble.
“This project wouldn’t have succeeded without the hard work of the many parents and community members promoting this project,” Noble stated in the release. “Led by Donna Seidel and Rosemary Nagy, this group worked diligently to educate everyone about the importance of signal at this intersection.”
Board member Karl Frank Jr. stated, “Partnering with MoDOT to install this signal will create a safe entrance and exit for our students and parents accessing Wohlwend Elementary and Oakville Middle schools.
“We can now create a safe environment at these two schools for our students and the community.”
Both Oakville Middle and Wohlwend Elementary were built in the 1960s. At the time, Telegraph Road was a two-lane highway, and the area wasn’t as developed as it is today.
The road was widened to five lanes in 1999 and the entrance to the schools has been a traffic hazard for those entering and exiting the schools’ parking lot.
Work should be completed around March 2011, the release stated.
