Key Takeaways:
NEW FLORENCE, Mo. (Oct. 19, 2026) – Ameren Missouri is hosting public open houses on Thursday, Oct. 22, in Truesdale and Jonesburg to gather public input on the Crossroads Connector Project. The project will increase transmission capacity to meet the anticipated energy demand from nearby data centers under development and strengthen the energy grid to improve reliability for all customers in the area.
The open house schedule is below:
The Crossroads Connector Project includes the construction of a new substation named Float and approximately 22 miles of new double circuit, 345 kilovolt (kV) transmission lines developed in two phases in Montgomery and Warren counties.
Phase 1 of the project includes constructing approximately 4 miles of new 345 kV double circuit transmission line to connect the new Lumberjack substation southeast of New Florence to the existing Montgomery-Callaway 345 kV transmission line located west of New Florence.
Phase 2 of the project includes constructing approximately 18 miles of new 345 kV double circuit transmission line and a new substation named Float west of Warrenton. The new line will connect the Float substation to the new Nightingale and Lumberjack substations located east and southeast of New Florence.
"Keeping landowners and communities informed is central to our planning process," said Leslie Tindall, project manager for Ameren Missouri. "Open houses are an opportunity to review project information, provide input on transmission line routes and share feedback that can help inform our team as the project moves forward."
"We are committed to ensuring that no costs associated with this project will be passed on to other customers. In fact, the nearby data centers are already paying for construction costs as required by our large load rate plan," said Rob Dixon, vice president of regulatory and government relations for Ameren Missouri.
Missouri has one of the strictest laws in the nation, Missouri Senate Bill 4, requiring data centers to pay the costs to serve them while providing robust protection for all other customers. Ameren Missouri’s Powering Missouri Growth Plan, in alignment with Missouri Senate Bill 4, requires new large load businesses to pay upfront 100% of direct interconnection costs and upfront financial security and collateral requirements equivalent to two years of minimum monthly bills. Ameren Missouri will ask state regulators to ensure that the rates paid by nearby data centers fully cover the costs of the entire project in a future regulatory filing.
Earlier this summer, the state of Missouri announced two investments from data center developers in Montgomery County: one for $15 billion and another for $10 billion. The announcements also included hundreds of new jobs for the region and millions of dollars in community contributions.
The open houses will offer the latest information about the project and an opportunity to provide feedback on the routing process. Each session will include the same information, with no formal presentation. A self-paced virtual engagement presentation and interactive comment map are also available online.
The project is scheduled to be in service in 2028. For more information, visit Ameren.com/Crossroads, email connect@crossroadsconnectorproject.com, or call the project hotline at 573.367.5246.
About Ameren Missouri
Ameren Missouri has been providing electric and gas service for more than 100 years, and the company's electric rates are among the lowest in the nation. Ameren Missouri's mission is to power the quality of life for its approximately 1.3 million electric and 135,000 natural gas customers in central and eastern Missouri. The company's service area covers approximately 60 counties and more than 500 communities, including the greater St. Louis area. For more information, visit Ameren.com/Missouri or follow us at @AmerenMissouri or Facebook.com/AmerenMissouri.