House in the middle of the road

[DAL764]

This is something I came across in Google Earth today:
https://maps.google.de/maps?q=38.635765,-90.511564&ll=38.635771,-90.51106&spn=0.00176,0.002248&num=1&t=h&z=19

The road in question is Salt Mill Road, running parallel to Missouri 141 west of St. Louis. Road is a dead end south if the building, which going by GE historic imagery was built around late 2006/early 2007. GSV imagery is from 2007, GSV imagery on the adjecent 141 is from 2012, and the building looks exactly the same. So anybody have an idea what this building is about, especially the location?

Or for that matter, similar cases of buildings having been built in the middle of a (more or less) active road.

[NE2]

Probably a salt mill.

The two buildings to the north are both MODOT, so perhaps this is too. Storage for road salt?

[SectorZ]

Probably a salt mill.

The two buildings to the north are both MODOT, so perhaps this is too. Storage for road salt?

I was thinking that too, but the GSV shows the garage door on it to be very low, like residential garage low.

https://goo.gl/maps/5y4ml

That is the most random placement of a building I've ever seen.

[briantroutman]

It might not be a common occurrence, but I don't think it's that bizarre. I can easily imagine how this arrangement might have come about. Salt Mill Road (and Old Woods Mill Road) would appear to make a serviceable shortcut between the dense retail development on Clayton Road and the development along the I-64 frontage, particularly if traffic was backed up on I-64. The people living on Brookmill Lane and Millfield Court complained about all of the through traffic rolling though their neighborhood and got the town council and MoDOT to seal off the road.

And if you have an unused concrete slab, why not put the building right on it? You'd have to pour a slab anyway. As to the building's purpose, it's almost certainly small item storage for MoDOT or the municipality. The satellite photo shows many items being stored on the unused roadway behind the building as well.

[vdeane]

Is that roadway actually unused?  Street view shows traffic driving around the building.

[briantroutman]

Is that roadway actually unused?  Street view shows traffic driving around the building.

There's nothing that can be accessed beyond the building, so I'd say for all intents and purposes, it's disused. There is an asphalt driveway around the building, but that appears to be there to allow access to the outdoor storage area behind. It's definitely not striped for traffic. Why the Google Street View car went around the building it beyond me, but I've seen lots of anomalies with them driving down nearly nonexistent dirt paths or alleys while leaving out legitimate roads.

[vdeane]

Didn't see the other barrier further down.  The newer street view at the exit also makes it clearer.

[freebrickproductions]

I can't have been the only one who thought of this song, right?

[spooky]

This immediately came to mind, on Route 27 in Sharon, MA:

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.127036,-71.187112,3a,75y,290.42h,83.75t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sq7ZvwG9FA0uO56k7C0geCQ!2e0

I'm pretty sure this is a case of the roads being there first and someone later deciding to make them one way on each side of the home.

[jeffandnicole]

It's primarily a MoDOT Motorist Assistance Building, although it appears MoDOT has meetings and other functions there as well.  The address is 669 Salt Mill Rd., Chesterfield, MO.

http://www.modot.org/stlouis/news_and_information/District6Release.shtml?action=displaySSI&newsId=188381

http://www.govcb.com/SL-RW-Reflective-TruckDecals-ADP14152905500000605.htm

[NE2]

It's primarily a MoDOT Motorist Assistance Building, although it appears MoDOT has meetings and other functions there as well.  The address is 669 Salt Mill Rd., Chesterfield, MO.

Not true. 669 Salt Mill is to the north.

[BamaZeus]

I can't have been the only one who thought of this song, right?

I have always wondered what kind of city would allow a house to be built in the middle of a street.

[TEG24601]

It appears that the roadway used to be used, but given that it is detached/barriered to the South, it was likely closed due to the neighborhood.  The sign at the end of the ramp also indicates the road make a left turn only, and there is no Stop Sign.  When the road was closed, is looks like the DOT took the opportunity for some storage shed for equipment, like plows, or construction materials.

[empirestate]

I can't have been the only one who thought of this song, right?

I have always wondered what kind of city would allow a house to be built in the middle of a street.

Whereas I always used to wonder what misfortune befell the homeowners, such that their house was now located in the middle of their street.

EDIT: Of course, it's obvious to me now that I think about it, but my odd perception of this lyric is because in British usage, you would say a building is located "in" a street, whereas in the U.S. we live "on" a street, and to say "in" means that something is actually within the traveled portion of the roadway.

[usends]

https://www.flickr.com/photos/usends/13625793244/in/set-72157635244329385

[hm insulators]

I can't have been the only one who thought of this song, right?

I was thinking the same song, too!

[tradephoric]

What appears to be a home in the middle of a roundabout.

https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=28.87528,-81.99067&spn=0.001818,0.001781&t=h&z=19

[Brandon]

What appears to be a home in the middle of a roundabout.

https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=28.87528,-81.99067&spn=0.001818,0.001781&t=h&z=19

From GSV, it looks like a maintenance building.

[NE2]

Given that it's The Villages, it's probably a tea brewery.