Gloves Off: My question is not about 40/64 it's self, but rather about one of my alternate routes:

The Jefferson Avenue Bridge.

Do you have any information regarding the schedule for opening of the south-bound lanes?

Thanks

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: The city's contractor has a couple more days of work that require warm, dry weather. It should be very soon.

Linda Wilson

jz: Have there been problems with the streetlights at the Lindbergh interchange? We have driven on the highway there at night and the lights have been out.

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: There was a problem with the lighting control box. It has been repaired and the streetlights at the ramps at Lindbergh are now working.

Linda Wilson

Tim: What is up with the condition of the McKnight Road overpass? Is a mess

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: A final layer of asphalt will be put on McKnight at the I-64 interchange later this spring once the weather is consistently warmer both day and night.

Linda Wilson

Thomas Mooney: How have the variable speed limits on Interstates 270 and 255 been working out? My employer switched to a 9-to-6 schedule during the I-64 closures so I'm almost never out there during peak hours, but I was wondering if MoDOT has considered trying out speed limits in excess of 60 during quieter times of the day. (Certainly many drivers on I-270 and I-255 have, the posted limits notwithstanding!) Also, might the program be expanded to other Missouri freeways (like the new I-64 once it's completed)? It seems like a good idea in theory, assuming that drivers have been following the reduced limits.

Thanks for having these talks every week--it's been great reading them.

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: We are continuing to monitor I-270/255 and the variable speed limit. The purpose of the program is to caution drivers to slow down based on changing conditions ahead of them. Many times there is a crash or slowed, congested traffic ahead and drivers come speeding up to it and have crashes at the back of these congested areas. The variable speed limit signs are designed to pace the traffic and slow them down as they approach crashes or congested areas. We will not post it higher than 60 mph because that is the posted speed limit on I-270. It is actually the posted speed limit on all interstates within the urban area of St. Louis. It is 60 in the urban area because there is a lot more volume on the highways and interchanges every mile or few miles where motorists are entering and exiting the highway. In the rural parts of the state, it is safe to have a posted speed of 70 mph. Depending on how things work on I-270, we may consider putting variable speed limits on other interstates, but right now we don't have any plans to do that. Thanks for the good question.

Linda Wilson

Hille Smelkin: This is a question for MoDOT. Despite record-setting rainfall, the Gateway Constructor consortium still finished phase 1 two weeks ahead of schedule allowing them a bonus. In light of this, do you think you allowed the contractors too much time to finish this project?

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: No we do not. We felt it was critical to motorists to ensure the west half would be open by December 31, 2008. By providing the incentive for this schedule, we were driving the effort to get this done and minimize the impact to motorists. The contractor's achievement is amazing given the record setting rainfall in 2008. The main paving operations started more than a month late due to the rain. It is the credit and talent of a lot of skilled, dedicated St. Louis craftsmen that enabled them to reach the schedule. The contractor also used a lot of the incentive money on overtime to ensure it happened. We can only hope the east half is just as successful. It is a tremendous amount of work to do in a short period of time.

Linda Wilson