On the northeast edge of Webster Groves, where Oxford meets Big Bend Boulevard near Deer Creek Shopping Center, the former McDonald's parking lot is turning into a park. Farther along Big Bend in Maplewood, a quarter mile north of the Laclede Station intersection, St. Louis County crews are replacing two bridges. Just east, Maplewood is rebuilding Greenwood Boulevard down to the curbs. The three work zones belong to three different agencies, and all of them feed one greenway route.
Right now, the Deer Creek Greenway stops just west of Big Bend and Oxford. The three projects are designed to carry it the rest of the way east, through Maplewood to the River des Peres Greenway in the City of St. Louis.
Where the trail ends today
Head west from the Big Bend endpoint and you get the Deer Creek Greenway most people in Webster Groves already know. It runs past Deer Creek Shopping Center into Maplewood's Deer Creek Park, which Great Rivers Greenway notes is often called "Rocket Park" for its space-themed playground and tall rocket slide. The ballfields there sit on the Webster Groves side. Farther along, Lorraine Davis Park has boardwalks and a pavilion overlooking the spot where Deer Creek and Shady Creek meet. Barnickel Park has a half-court basketball court.
The Marshall Avenue trailhead, just east of Brentwood Boulevard, was built with funding and help from the City of Webster Groves and the Bellwether Foundation. It has greenway parking, a covered pavilion, a bike fix-it station and a pump track with rolling hills and banked turns. The trail ends at Brentwood Park and its 2.7-acre destination playground, with an underpass beneath Manchester Road and a connection near the Maplewood MetroLink station.
That is the whole western half. The eastern end, at Big Bend, has been a dead end, and the new park is the first piece built to fill that gap.
The park on the old McDonald's lot
Great Rivers Greenway and the City of Webster Groves are building Oxford Bend Park as a rest stop on the extended greenway. In GRG's words, it will "fill the gap between the current endpoint of the trail" and the extension through Maplewood.
According to the City of Webster Groves, the plans include:
- A nature exploration and play area
- A pavilion
- Rain gardens and more than 30 new trees
- An expanded path with skateable features
- A bicycle repair station, a water fountain and benches
- Solar-powered lighting
The Webster-Kirkwood Times reported a total cost of about $1,296,900. Webster Groves is putting in $150,000 from Prop W, and Great Rivers Greenway is covering the rest. The city's share comes to roughly one dollar in nine. Deputy City Manager Scott Davis told the Times it "will be a great new park with some features not found in any of our other parks."
The park has at least one enthusiastic neighbor. Heath Norton, co-owner of St. Louis Boxing Club across the street, told the same paper, "We believe in fresh air, movement and fun, and remain grateful the city of Webster Groves and Great Rivers Greenway believe in the same."
Construction started in fall 2025, according to the Times. Great Rivers Greenway's project page sets completion for late fall 2026. A park this size would be a nice addition to the corner on its own. Its bigger job is to connect to what Maplewood is building next door.
Where the trail goes after the park
Great Rivers Greenway's project page lays out the eastern extension as a chain of street corners. Here it is in order, from the Webster Groves end:
- From the current trail endpoint just west of Big Bend and Oxford, east to Sussex Avenue and Greenwood Boulevard
- Along Greenwood Boulevard, where Maplewood's road reconstruction includes a section of the new greenway
- From Greenwood and Canterbury Avenue onward to the River des Peres Greenway in the City of St. Louis
GRG says the finished route will connect Brentwood, Webster Groves, Maplewood and St. Louis. It will also link Deer Creek Shopping Center, the Maplewood business district, several parks and the Shrewsbury-Lansdowne MetroLink station.
Maplewood's project page describes the trail as 10 feet wide for walkers and cyclists. It also explains the funding. Federal grants cover 80 percent of both the trail and the road rebuild. The remaining 20 percent comes from the regional sales tax dedicated to greenways for the trail, and from Maplewood taxpayers for the road. The contractor is Sweetens Concrete.
The first leg runs right past the park, so some of its prep work is happening on Webster Groves' doorstep. GRG lists utility jobs along Oxford and Sussex. On Oxford between Big Bend and Sussex, AT&T and Charter are removing the telephone poles on the south side and moving the wires to the north-side poles. On Sussex, Ameren and Charter are moving power poles from the east side to the west. GRG warns that utility trucks parked on these streets can narrow the road and limit street parking.
Three crews, three owners, three calendars
The park, the trail and the bridges all sit within a few blocks of each other. They are run by different agencies on different schedules, so the corner won't be finished on any single date.
| Project | Run by | Contractor | Started | Scheduled finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oxford Bend Park | Great Rivers Greenway and City of Webster Groves | Not listed | Fall 2025 | Late fall 2026 |
| Greenwood Blvd. rebuild and greenway extension | City of Maplewood and Great Rivers Greenway | Sweetens Concrete, road project | Early 2026 | End of 2026, weather permitting |
| Greenwood and Pacific bridges over Big Bend | St. Louis County, project AR-1670 | Millstone Weber | July 2026 | Early 2027 |
All three dates are targets. The last row is the one drivers will feel the longest.
Big Bend's bridges set the schedule
St. Louis County is replacing Greenwood Boulevard Bridge No. 424 and Pacific Avenue Bridge No. 428. Both carry traffic over Big Bend, about a quarter mile north of the Laclede Station intersection, one on each side of a Union Pacific Railroad bridge. The county says both have reached the end of their design life.
For anyone who uses Big Bend to get to Maplewood, Shrewsbury or Clayton, this is the project that matters most this winter. The county has Big Bend down to one northbound and one southbound lane through the winter and recommends Laclede Station Road and Hanley Road as alternates. Its detour map runs from North Laclede Station to South Hanley Road to Manchester Road.
The ramps are changed too. The county lists these closures during construction:
- The ramp from northbound Big Bend to Greenwood Boulevard
- The ramp from southbound Big Bend to Pacific Avenue
- The ramp from Pacific Avenue to northbound Big Bend, while that ramp is rebuilt
The ramp from Greenwood to southbound Big Bend now carries two-way traffic so O'Hare Foundry keeps its access. Property access is maintained from Cambridge Avenue, Sussex Avenue and Greenwood Boulevard.
The finished bridges get sidewalks, which the county says are for pedestrian safety. They also get upgraded concrete barriers on all four ramps and new signals where the Pacific Avenue ramp meets southbound Big Bend. The sidewalks matter for the greenway. Once all three projects are done, this stretch will be friendlier to people on foot from the park all the way up through the bridges.
The county expects to finish in early 2027, after both the park and Maplewood's road work are scheduled to wrap up. So the new trees and pavilion may be in place before Big Bend gets back to two lanes in each direction.
What the finished link reaches
The Webster-Kirkwood Times reported that once the Deer Creek Greenway extension is complete, cyclists will be able to ride roughly 26 miles of continuous greenway from Grant's Trail to Brentwood Park.
That figure explains the effort behind a small corner park. Today, the trail from Big Bend heads west toward Rocket Park, the Marshall Avenue pump track and Brentwood Park. With the gap closed, a ride from the same corner can head east instead, past the old McDonald's lot, along Oxford and Greenwood, and on to the River des Peres Greenway, with the Shrewsbury-Lansdowne MetroLink station nearby.
Great Rivers Greenway posts construction updates on its Oxford Bend Park page and takes questions at 314-436-7009 or [email protected]. Maplewood offers email and text alerts for the Greenwood work through its project page.
At DeMaggio Partners, we keep track of the projects that shape daily life in Webster Groves, like a new trail link at the end of the street or a winter of one-lane traffic on Big Bend. If you're wondering how changes on the northeast side of town affect your home, let's talk about your next move. Book a free consultation or get your home valuation.
