Happy New Year - Highway 40 is closed
Just about the time that you’ll be recovering from your New Year’s Eve revelry, road blocks will go up if your daily commute is on Highway 40 between Ballas Road and I-170.
Before the morning rush hour on Jan. 2, crews will set up blockades in both directions at Ballas Road on the west and at I-170 and Brentwood Boulevard on the eastern edge of the closure.
Today’s story by reporter Elisa Crouch explains that state contractors will immediately begin demolishing bridges over Lindbergh Boulevard, Brentwood Boulevard, and Clayton and Warson roads.
Once work west of I-170 ends, crews will close lanes from I-170 to Kingshighway until late 2009.
âThere will be significant delays if people do not change their commuting times and habits,” said Ed Hassinger, district engineer for the Transportation Department.
With the first long-term closure coming in two months and four days from today, have you altered your daily commute or made alternate plans for getting to work, school or anyplace else in the path of the road project?
I live in SW City and work in Maryland Heights. I will take side streets and eventually end up on Midland/Dorsett. If you don’t know how to do that I’m not going to tell you..one less car on my commute.
I don’t believe ANY highway will be the “easy way” during the shut down. Right now I drive 17 miles in the morning and it takes 20 minutes to get to work and 45 minutes to get home. I’m praying that my drive home dosesn’t take more than an hour and a half, or I will start looking for a new job.
I recently moved from the U City Loop to South Grand to give me access to highway 44. My commute prior to the shutdown involves a highway 40 straight-shot west to about 141. After the shutdown I’m hoping 44 west to 270 North will provide a reasonable commute time.
And to all those who are now complaining that MetroLink doesn’t service the construction route or the county….where were those voices when MetroLink wanted to expand but was shot down at the polls??
One of the positives I’ve seen are all the people moving into the city to avoid the delays. Living in the Tower Grove neighborhood, there has been a mini-influx of people moving in from the county. Even my parents, long-time suburbanites, moved to the Hill to avoid the mess. To all those West County folks fearing their 40-less commute - come check out the City. There’s shorter drives, and many great (and safe) neighborhoods! The Hill, Dogtown, U City, South City and the Loft District are wonderful places to start if you’re afraid to leave the ‘burbs!
What is MODot thinking…Wait they arn’t I will have no choice but to take a side street through neighborshoods to get from Ballas to Brentwood. I work right in the heart of Brentwood and drive from OFallon. I can only imagine the nightmare I face.
Blame should be placed on Charlie A. Dooley, you know the guy running St. Louis County without a college education! Dooley lives in North County making over 100k off the taxpayers each year, and made sure North County was not affected. Dooley pushed plans away from keeping the highway open and placed his own people on the planning board so this would not affect his area by using I70. Dooley could care less about West and South County, if the news media in this town was intelligent they would request copies of his meetings under the Missouri Sunshine Laws and might find out it is not contain Diversity!!!!
I am still amazed that this major highway construction does not include a Metrolink expansion. With a growing downtown and increased environmental awareness, the MetroLink running along 40 seems like a wonderful idea.
It’s true that MetroLink doesn’t go nearly far enough west and putting a Metro expansion along 40 at the same time as the construction would have been a wonderful idea. However, the MetroBus IS a good alternative. Of course it is better to have many people in one vehicle instead of each person taking an individual car. They’re actually very clean and much more relaxing than fighting the traffic.
I live right off Brentwood Blvd. in Brentwood and take Hwy 40 to work (Saint Louis University). I didn’t realize I wouldn’t be able to get onto 40 from Brentwood, so now I’m wondering if I should just start taking Eager to Hanley and getting on there (which is already backed up now and will only get worse, I’m afraid) or just take Forest Park Parkway. Any thoughts?
Of course, I might also just start parking at the new Metro Link station and taking it. Only problem is that it drops you off on not the best part of Grand, and I am not sure I’m happy walking from there to the med campus every morning and night.
Dr. truth-Harry Truman ran a country without a college education.
Sheila is right - when the Metrolink was designed, it was, from the start, fairly useless!! The airport to downtown. Someone should have figured a way to put an elevated system right smack down the middle of all the major roadways (I-70, I-64, I-270, I-44 & I-55). Also, I-170 should have been extended all the way South to I-55, and 141 should have connected to the Maryland Heights Expressway. Then, if I-64 needed these much overdue enhancements, it might not been as painful.