Photo courtesy of BJC HealthCare
A rendering of the completed intersection
Construction for BJC HealthCare and Washington University School of Medicine's campus renewal project will reroute traffic at the intersection of Kingshighway Boulevard and Forest Park Parkway in the Central West End for up to a year.
According to a statement from BJC HealthCare, starting December 5:
- Eastbound Forest Park Parkway drivers cannot turn onto northbound Kingshighway Boulevard.
- Drivers on Kingshighway Boulevard cannot access westbound Forest Park Parkway from either direction.
- Forest Park Parkway west of Kingshighway will be closed to through traffic for up to a year. (Local traffic west of the construction will be unaffected.)
- North-south lanes on Kingshighway Boulevard will remain open during the day with limited lane closures during overnight construction hours (7 p.m. to 5 a.m.).
- East-west lanes on Forest Park Parkway between Kingshighway Boulevard and Euclid Avenue will be limited to one lane in each direction.
- The Kingshighway bridge over Forest Park Parkway will be left in place and filled underneath to bring both roads to the same level.
The construction to create a more "traditional intersection" is part of a campus renewal project encompassing Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis Children's Hospital, and Washington University School of Medicine. June Fowler, BJC senior vice president of communications and marketing says in a statement that, as it stands now, the intersection "does not lend itself to easy and safe navigation for patients and families seeking to access this part of the campus."
The new intersection will allow for safer pedestrian navigation and improved access to the medical center and Central West End neighborhood, according to the statement. The $10-million project is funded through a federal grant and funds from BJC and the Washington University School of Medicine.
The project, which was initially slated to begin in July, is expected to be completed by summer 2017.
