FORISTELL, Mo. — A new $800-million meat processing plant in Warren County isn't scheduled to open until 2025, but residents are already voicing their concerns about cattle haulers coming through their community.
The facility sits along Interstate 70 along the border of Warren and St. Charles County, two miles west of Foristell.
When Nate Schmerber bought his Foristell home over a year ago, he admits he fell in love with the rural setting.
“When we chose our lot out here, we specifically wanted to make sure that we backed up to fields or something that was open,” Nate Schmerber said. “You can’t get that in Wentzville or anywhere else.”
Schmerber was aware that a $800-million meat processing plant was being built down the road.
Schmerber said he had questions about the plan to send 200 cattle haulers per day through Foristell down Veterans Memorial Road.
“The overpass that we have here is crumbling,” he said. “It needs to be rebuilt and addressed quickly.”
“Right now, there is a designing stage of a roadway to the south part of the property,” Warren County Commissioner Joe Gildehaus said.
While the goal is to tie the road into Highway T, Schmerber is concerned it would also send cattle haulers through his Foristell subdivision.
“There are quite a few houses that are immediately off that road that would be directly impacted,” Schmerber said. “I've got little ones, there are a lot of kids in this neighborhood. The last thing I want is commercial trucks and semis rolling through a residential area because the last thing I want to see is somebody get hurt."
“If that road goes in it would be vehicle traffic only,” Gildehaus said. “There won’t be truck traffic. That area is actually in the jurisdiction of Foristell, and they won’t allow tractor-trailer truck traffic on that road.”
Commercial vehicles would only be banned on the road if Foristell passes an ordinance.
The Liberty subdivision HOA could also vote to privatize the road once construction on homes is finished in the area.
Foristell City Administrator Sandra Stokes told 5 On Your Side she wasn’t aware of Warren County’s plans to build a new road south of the meat processing plant.
“They would have to build Interstate Drive from Stringtown Rd. all the way up to the Liberty subdivision,” Stoke said. “That’s just rumor right now. We haven’t heard anything from Warren County at all saying they’re going to do that.”
Nearly everyone 5 On Your Side's Holden Kurwicki spoke with said a stand-alone overpass serving the plant would fix the problem, but a Missouri Department of Transportation spokesman said there are no plans to build one servicing the meat processing plant at this time.
“That isn’t budgeted for the Improve I-70 project,” Schmerber said. “It has to get earmarked separately from another funding bill.”
“The AFG plant really isn’t going to be fully operational until 2025,” Stoke said. “I don’t think anything is going to happen with a road through Springtown through Liberty subdivision for quite some time.”
MoDOT is holding a public meeting Wednesday night at the Warren County Administration Building in Warrenton to discuss future plans for I-70 through the Foristell area and review an environmental study.