be designated as an interstate. Phase I Phase I included work from I-270 to Route 94 through the Creve Coeur Lake Memorial Park, but due to concerns with traffic congestion at the proposed terminus with MO-94 it was decided to extend the freeway further west along its concurrency with MO-94 to Harvester Rd. Two major bridge structures were required, which included the Veterans Memorial Bridge and Creve Coeur Lake Memorial Park Bridge which cost $79 million and $74 million respectively. Both structures are designed to withstand seismic activity from the nearby New Madrid Fault. The total cost to construct this phase was approximately $350 million. This phase also included improvements to the Creve Coeur Lake Memorial Park. The park nearly doubled in size and an existing bike trail there was linked to the Katy Trail in St. Charles County via the Veterans Memorial Bridge. The Creve Coeur Lake was dredged and a siltation lake was added to eliminate the need for future dredging. A ribbon cutting ceremony occurred on December 13, 2003. The ceremony was held on the eastbound lanes of the Veterans Memorial Bridge. Dignitaries that spoke included then Governor Bob Holden and Senator Christopher "Kit" Bond. Following the various speeches and ribbon cutting, a ceremonial first drive occurred between Upper Bottom Rd/Arena Parkway and Maryland Heights Expressway. Due to inclement weather, MoDOT opted to use December 13, 2003 to clear snow off the freeway and delayed opening the freeway until around 10:00 am on December 14, 2003 after the roadway was cleared. The section of the freeway in St. Louis County has been dedicated the Buzz Westfall Memorial Freeway after former St. Louis County Executive Buzz Westfall who helped get the freeway built. Westfall died in 2003, months before the freeway opened. A new interchange taking NB I-270 to WB MO-364 opened to traffic on July 22, 2011. This two lane ramp replaced a cumbersome cloverleaf movement which caused frequent backups on I-270. Phase II Phase II work extended the freeway along its concurrency with Route 94 to Route N/Mid Rivers Mall Dr including a one way outer road system. Work along MO-94 from Portwest Dr to Harvester Rd was completed as part of the Phase I. This phase of construction was completed on August 30, 2012. Completion of Phase II had originally been proposed to happen in segments with each interchange constituting a separate project. Work began