Get ready, folks…Highway 40 will be in the news again next week.

That’s when the state is expected to award a contract to the design-build firm that will handle the 12-mile reconstruction between Sarah and Spoede. The state has a spiffy web site that details the project. But it doesn’t tell you what you really want to know yet: Will the highway be closed in one direction? Will lanes be shut down? How will they do it?

But before the fun gets started next week, let’s do our version of a Letterman top 10 list: What are the top 10 reasons to do…

As a relative newcomer to St. Louis, I’ve learned about many of the cultural touchstones of the community. What are the things in our area that inspire discussion? Highway 40 is one. Lambert Field is another.

And then there’s AmShack.

I learned fast that people loved to talk about the “temporary” train station at the south end of 16th Street under Highway 40 — the “replacement” for Union Station. I was never fortunate enough to see it for myself. But I’m told it was a sight to behold. And temporary? According to the Post-Dispatch’s story on Feb. 14, 2005, it was “temporary”…