ARNOLD, Mo. – Just over two weeks after business owners filed a lawsuit against the City of Arnold for a controversial project, the process has come to a complete halt.
The announcement comes at a time when the city has been under scrutiny throughout 2024 from community members, as the Arnold Parkway Project threatened to acquire a large portion of property already occupied by homeowners and businesses, according to court documents.
The $75 million project was designed to be a two-mile, two-lane outer road beside Interstate 55, traveling down to Highway 141, as reported by our partners at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Many Arnold citizens have advocated the discontinuation of the project on social media through petitions, groups, and calling out officials.
Additionally, the lawsuit cites several amendment violations the city made, further calling on officials to retract the project. They called the plans “ill-conceived” with no source to repay the three-quarters of $100 million and deemed the project an illegal attempt at eminent domain.
FOX 2 contacted Arnold’s City Administrator, Bryan Richison, who provided the following statement:
“The City of Arnold and the Arnold Retail Corridor (ARC) Transportation Development District are no longer pursuing the Arnold Parkway project. The city and the ARC will complete the purchase of any properties that are currently under contract if the property owner wishes to complete the sale. There will be no further efforts to acquire property.”
As of Tuesday morning, the city’s website page about the Parkway Project was still functioning and working, which detailed the plan. However, by the afternoon, the link states the website is expired.
