ST. LOUIS – The Department of Transportation is spending more than $100 million to upgrade sidewalks on major state highways in the St. Louis area.
The federal government directed local transportation agencies like MoDOT to reform when the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990. So far, MoDOT has spent $53 million, but that’s only about half the work completed, and there’s another $55 million left for projects to be completed.
80% of the funding comes from the federal government and 20% from the state.
MoDOT St. Louis District Engineer Tom Blair cited several projects including creating wheelchair-friendly ramps, changing colors and materials for the visually impaired and creating textured domes along sidewalks for people who use canes.
“We need to make government services accessible and this is part of our effort to make sidewalks along transportation corridors accessible to people with disabilities. People with disabilities are taxpayers and Americans too. They have rights,” Blair said.
Amy Wehmere, president and CEO of ParaQuad, a company committed to helping people with disabilities, including herself, agrees.
“I think (sidewalks) are great. The crosswalks are great, the curb cuts are great. I think they’re really great,” she said. “Sidewalks don’t just serve people with disabilities, they serve everyone. They allow people, strollers, families with kids to easily get through. They’re accessible to everyone.”
MoDOT is about halfway through the sidewalk construction, with an estimated completion date of the end of 2027.
