Avenue of Saints Dedication Ceremony

The vision for a four-lane highway to connect St. Paul, Minnesota and St. Louis, Missouri will soon become a reality. The "Avenue of the Saints," so coined by businessman Ernie Hayes several decades ago, will be completed this summer. While Minnesota and Iowa have both completed their portions of the Avenue, Missouri is putting in the final nine miles of additional lanes to complete the highway.

The Avenue of the Saints Route

U.S. 61/40 St. Louis (Lindbergh Blvd.) to Wentzville 28 miles

U.S. 61 (Wentzville to just south of Wayland, MO (Rte 61/27 interchange)) 127 miles

MO Route 27 (At U.S. 61/27 interchange (south of Wayland to Iowa State Line) 7 miles

IA Route 27 (Marked as Route 27, 218, I-380, 18, I-35 through Iowa) 279 miles

I-35 (Iowa State Line to St. Paul, Minnesota) 110 miles

Parking

Shuttle

Program

Caravan

Whistlestops (Saint Designation)

Canton, LaGrange, Palmyra,

Hannibal, New London,

Bowling Green, Troy,

Moscow Mills

The Avenue has a lot of emotion behind its completion, especially in Missouri. In 2000, several students from Canton High School, located along the Avenue, went to the Missouri State Highway Commission pleading for the road to be four-laned following the death of one of their classmates. These students became known as the SMART group (Students of Missouri Assisting Rural Transportation), and a portion of the Avenue is designated on their behalf today. Their appeal to the Commission helped lead the way for programming the final four-lane section of the road.

In addition to the planning committee and the assistance of several MoDOT team members, we would like to thank the following organizations for their assistance in planning and implementing the dedication ceremony:

tristate summit

Scott Callicott, Northern Regional Director for

Congressman Kenny Hulshof

Patricia Meldrum, Gamm, Inc.

Shelby Crow, Great River Economic Development Foundation

Tom Boland, Tom Oakley and Don Carmody

Our mission is to provide a world-class transportation experience that delights our customers and promotes a prosperous Missouri.