Road Safety: One Curve at a Time

Local residents have many stories to tell about Route FF roadway; most of which are heart-breaking. The , a Eureka resident, turned attention once again on the safety hazards of that particular road and what could be done to avoid more deaths and injuries.

On Oct. 7, another accident on the more rural, remote FF closed the road for more than an hour. "How many accidents do we need to hear about before we ourselves want to make a difference?" posed Eureka resident Stephanie Stemmler.

Deemed an informational meeting, a grassroots gathering of approximately 50 attendees was held Thursday morning at the intersection of Missouri Route 109, Route WW and Route FF. The Sommers family granted permission to gather on their property near the intersection.

Leading the discussion was Shawn Archambault, father of who also with a bus on Nov. 18.

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Archambault said he obviously could not do anything about losing his daughter, but that "we can do something today and in the future."

"Kaela may do more in her death than she would've done in her life," he said. "She is the light of this project. Gathering today like this, with so many interested people helps me heal. I truly believe the power of the people can make a huge difference."

Also in attendance to provide statistics and to answer process-related questions was a Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) manager Judy Wagner.

Wagner, who said she has been with MoDOT for 20 years, teared up as she began to address the crowd, indicating that she was overwhelmed by the community support shown about the challenges manifesting from Route FF. She said her job has been to make Missouri roads safer through applying economic safety improvements, but that it often has been grassroots efforts that help drive the overall attention on the needs of individual road projects.

Real Issues with Route FF:

Route FF originally was built by St. Louis County representatives long ago. In 1956, MoDOT was asked to take over Missouri county roads. It's been a long-term process for MoDOT crews to maintain, improve and in many cases, redo, all roads that need work.

No doubt, its windiness is hazardous, if driven at too high of speeds. But local authorities indicate the road's challenges also are attractive to thrill-seeking motorcycle riders and vehicle drivers.

Motorists speeding on the remote roadway is a common concern and complaint. In fact, several in attendance at Thursday's gathering asked Chief Michael Wiegand and a Missouri State Highway Patrol representative if more monitoring and speed enforcement could be done in the area as an immediate cure.

Archambault said he had called the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department about the matter as well.

Another issue that has plagued the area is that it's often referred to as "no man's land" in that the road physically resides in Jefferson County, but is serviced by a combination of emergency responders — sometimes , sometimes Pacific Fire Protection District — depending on which end of the route an accident occurs. Sometimes Eureka Police Department officials are the closest to the scene of an accident, so they respond. But other times, the Highway Patrol takes the lead.

Residents who live along the road indicate they keep a viligant watch for accidents, often being the first on the scene with buckets of water for fires, blankets and other emergency materials. The road's location makes it difficult for emergency responders to get there right away.

Editor's Note: I personally discovered it was hard to find the one entity who believes themselves to be utlimately accountable for Route FF when I spoke to Kaela Archambault's grandmother at the time of Kaela's accident and vowed to help her do something positive about public awareness of the road's dangers.

Caretakers of the Route FF domain also include members of the LaBarque Creek Watershed group, which is a nonprofit organization dedicated to community activities for preserving and improving the healthy, natural state of the unique area. They work with another state-led entity:  Missouri Department of Conservation. Conservation officials designated the watershed a "Conservation Opportunity Area.” Additionally, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials designated this area a “Priority Watershed," meaning special regulations cover construction of streams there and the surrounding areas near them.

Several of the waterhed's members attended Thursday's meeting, and vowed to stay heavily involved in any future plans.

Judith Browne, watershed coordinator and local resident since 1973, said she knew of at least four people who had died on the road. "The problems here add up, and we view today's meeting as a preliminary step toward the real action to be done," she said.

Would a Task Force Help?

One person in attendance Thursday was Jim Terry, a representative and chair of the W-MM Citizens' Task Force. That group was responsible for years of effort in getting the old M roadway completely redone from Interstate 55 to their area.

"It's an interfreeway now, with better alignment, shoulders and rumble strips," he said.

Terry said he had been participating in the task force for the past 13 years, attending East-West Gateway meetings and speaking with publicly elected officials. They hold meetings on the first Thursdays of each month at the House Springs Lions Club. For anyone interested, the next meeting will Nov. 3 at 7 p.m.

Terry said Wagner does a good job of representing their needs at MoDOT. "She helped us get started. But funding improvements is a major issue right now. The last transportation bill ran out more than two years ago."

He said MoDOT officials are scheduled to meet in St. Louis during December, and he recommended Route FF representatives to attend to get their attention.

Archambault announced at the meeting that he is in the process of establishing a nonprofit foundation in honor of Kaela. It will be called KMA, which represents her initials, but also stands for "Keeping Memories Alive." Eureka-Wildwood Patch will provide more details about the scope and structure of the foundation once details are finalized.

"Kaela, and others, paid a sacrifice for something greater," he said. "This is our town, and safety affects everybody in Eureka."

Editor's Note: A second, separate article will be published regarding MoDOT's assessment, options and considerations for Route FF.