Jim: I know the intersection of Market and Compton has seen many changes over the last few years. First, the entire intersection was rebuilt, along with the Compton bridge over 64. Then, when the Jefferson St. bridge was being replaced, Compton became a major North-South detour. Accordingly, the timing of the stoplights was changed to allow more time for drivers on Compton, especially Northbound.

Now, Jefferson is open again to handle the North South traffic in that area. However, now we have Forest Park Parkway as a major detour for the 64 project, and the Parkway essentially begins immediately West of the that intersection. Here's what I have noticed: the light is still very long for N/S Compton users. When there is little to no traffic, here are the approximate light times at 5:45 AM CT.

Northbound Compton: 1 min 25 sec
Southbound Compton: 20 sec
East/West on Market after left turn signals are over: 5 (five) SECONDS!

Needless to say, it is rather frustrating to exit the Parkway heading East on Market, come up the exit ramp, see the light change to green, and then turn red 5 seconds later. Then, wait nearly 2 minutes for an nearly empty intersection to cycle through again. Can city engineers (or MoDot, I'm not sure if this intersection falls into that jurisdiction) consider re-timing? Thanks.

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: Thank you for all of the detail. It is extremely helpful to our traffic engineers to understand the problem you are experiencing. I will talk to both the MoDOT and city traffic engineers on this one and see what they can do.

Linda Wilson

buran: I am writing this week to report an issue with Forest Park Parkway again -- this time, the physical roadway.

There are two adjacent sections of pavement a short distance west of Debalivere that seem to be partly located on subsiding or sinking ground. There is a large crack in each forming that is gradually growing as the pavement continues to sink and nothing has been done to actually repair this.

I know that at some point, spray-painted markings that seem to indicate that the section will be removed, the ground (presumably) stabilized and the pavement replaced have been added -- but that was months ago.

The approximate location of the two places where this can be seen is visible at http://tinyurl.com/debaliveresinkingpavement - what's going on with this? It's just going to keep getting worse if nothing is done, and shouldn't be happening this quickly on a new road that was just graded a few years ago.

I'm sending this report here because it affects a common detour route and also because I know this column frequently forwards concerns to the city if a problem is up to the city to fix -- if that's the case here, please do.

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: Thank you for the note. I will share this with the city, who is responsible for this section of the Parkway. It is an important road all the time and especially now that it is a detour. Thanks for pointing this out.

Linda Wilson

dweebe: Any update on the Oakland Ave bridge? Your previous talks only mentioned "later this summer".

Wells through Forest Park has gone from bad to worse as the weather has improved and a lot more people are using the park. Backups can occur the entire length from Skinker to the Zoo in both directions. I've also noticed that traffic on Clayton Ave through Dogtown has increased due to this.

Is there an update?

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: We do not have an exact date yet for the Oakland Avenue bridge over I-64. It should reopen at some point this summer. They are making great progress on the construction and the girders are being set this week.

Good news is the Hampton bridge will be opening next Friday, May 22. That should change some of the traffic patterns in the area, hopefully for the better.

Linda Wilson

RFRVC: I never complain about stoplights and think you all have done a great job getting everything synchronized.. however, at Clayton Rd & Big Bend, it seems as though there is too long of a green light for Big Bend drivers, especially at off-peak hours. Consistently there are drivers backed up at Clayton (both ways) while Big Bend rarely backs up. I drive this route at morning, lunch, and evening and never get past Big Bend in a single green light. Thoughts?

Also, I assume once Big Bend closes there will be much longer green lights for Clayton Rd?

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: I will share your signal timing concerns with the county. You are right that these will change on June 1 when we close Big Bend over I-64. We are working closely with St. Louis County to get ready for the Big Bend closure. The County will be changing the signal timing at Big Bend and Clayton and Big Bend and Dale. You may see more time for Clayton, but there will also need to be plenty of time for all the turning traffic on Big Bend turning to Clayton. County engineers will be observing all the signals on the alternate roads all day every day the first week and then on a regular basis after that.

Linda Wilson

Mark D: Hi,

I am concerned about the daily back up at the south end of 170. From the ramp to 170 N (Exiting 40 Eastbound), traffic comes to an immediate stop. I suspect this will likely get worse when the east half of the I64 project is completed. The problem seems to be exacerbated by the handful of drivers entering 170 NB from Galleria Parkway. It's a bad situation, and this seems to really compound things, for the benefit of a relatively small number of drivers.

I saw a program on Modern Marvels about traffic engineers in CA, where they showed how just one or two drivers could create a huge log jam. that makes me wonder: how important is it to have that on-ramp (from Galleria Pkwy) RIGHT there - at the worst congestion point in the morning?

Would MoDOT consider closing that on-ramp during the AM rush hour to see if that eliminates the log jam?

Thanks,
mark.

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: At this point we cannot close the on ramp from Galleria Parkway because it is the access from Brentwood to northbound I-170. Right now drivers on Brentwood cannot turn right on Eager and then go left onto the northbound ramp to I-170. We have that closed right now to handle the detouring traffic from Hanley. Therefore, Brentwood traffic goes to Galleria Parkway and then the on ramp to northbound I-170.

Our traffic engineers feel the volume on the Galleria Parkway ramp will significantly decrease once everything is complete and open. We will continue monitoring it in the future.

Linda Wilson