Marty Chapo Koch: Is the signage for overpasses including McKnight and Lindbergh temporary? Compared with the very attractive Compton overpass, with debossed, black letters stating "Compton Ave.", the west-of-Brentwood Blvd. overpasses' signage is clunky and out of character with the bridge design, never mind the fact that it is inconsistent with the easter end of the highway's signage.

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: Those are the permanent signs. It is the same typeface as the name at Compton, so although it is not exactly the same we were trying to be consistent with Compton. It is more expensive to chisel the name into the concrete compared to placing the sign on the bridge. We had a lump sum contract and were stretching every dollar to be able to rebuild 10 miles of highway, 12 interchanges and six overpasses. Typically, our bridges have a green sign with white letters to name the cross bridge for informational purposes only. Compton is the only bridge on I-64 with the chiseled name in the concrete.

Linda Wilson

Jeff: It is the worst planning of this Hwy 40 construction and no one seems to care. How can you close, at the same time, the busiest of overpasses Hanley and Big Bend? How have law and emergency agencies sat by and let MODOT let this happen? The absolute poorest of planning, and MODOT does not care. Why is major media not picking up on this and forcing MODOT to correct? Are they fooled as well? Using already congested Eager, Brentwood and McCausland, as I am hearing on the radio, is laughable. By the way, McCausland has lane restrictions as we speak. Pity us poor public because our government (State and Local) does not seem to care one bit.

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: In order to reopen all the lanes of I-64 by our deadline of December 31, 2009, we have to close Big Bend on June 1. The existing Big Bend bridge is in the way of the roadway work on I-64. It is certainly not the ideal situation and we are very concerned about the traffic. MoDOT has been working very closely with the County and City engineers to prepare for the traffic on other roads. We have also been communicating and preparing the emergency services in the area. McCausland is open with two lanes in each direction during morning and evening rush hours. The lane closures on McCausland are done when it is not rush hour. The construction crews are also working hard on Hanley to get it finished as soon as possible, but some overlap cannot be avoided this summer. Lastly, MoDOT, the County and City will be monitoring all the streets in the area starting June 1 to see how traffic patterns change and work on signal timing to help as much as possible. We will be providing daily reports on what we are observing and offering suggestions on how best to get around. We are taking this as seriously as the big closures of the west half and east half.

Linda Wilson

chris: What work remains to be done after this Friday at the Hampton interchange before a second lane can be opened in both directions?

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: We will be opening Hampton with two lanes in each direction on Friday. I do want to clarify how these lanes will work. For example, if you are on northbound Hampton going across the bridge over I-64 to Forest Park, the right lane will be a right turn only at Wells. The left lane will allow you to go around the roundabout at Wells. Coming out of the park heading south on Hampton, you will have one lane going around the roundabout and a free right turn lane from eastbound Wells to go right on southbound Hampton. So, it will be important to get in the correct lane as you are on Hampton heading toward the park. If you want to go right towards the MUNY, you should be in the right lane crossing the bridge. If you want to go left on Wells toward the ZOO parking, you should be in the left lane to go around the roundabout.

Good news is the crews were able to get all the lanes open by this Friday and we don't have to wait any longer.

Linda Wilson

Dan: Dan & Linda,
We have been reading for weeks that Brentwood Blvd under Hwy 64 would be paved and completed as soon as night time temps reach 50 Deg.
It 's sunny and 74 as I write this, over night low of 58 is forcast.

The Big Bend bridge is scheduled to close in the near future, forcing a lot more traffic over to Brentwood or McCausland. I am very concerned about traffic in the Brentwood area in the comming months. When can we expect Brentwood blvd @ Hwy 64 to be complete?

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: The crews plan to start working on Brentwood tomorrow with some prep work. The asphalt work will begin Friday night after evening rush hour. They need a couple of nights of work to put the final asphalt layers on it, so this work will continue next week at night.

Linda Wilson

suzyjax: Page Ave is being used, as MoDOT recommended, as a Hwy 40 alternate. Thus, heavier traffic which has accerbated a problem at the innerbelt and Page. The problem is people that are coming onto West bound Page from Southbound I-170 are NOT yielding to Westbound traffic. This not only backs up traffic but makes it hard for people to turn right into Home Depot/Office Depot or the office complex on Innerbelt Drive.
I noticed that there is a stop sign for Southbound I-170 people going West on the Rock Road. Is there a possiblity of changing the Yield sign to a Stop at Page?

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: I am familiar with that stop sign at the Rock Road. I will check with the traffic engineers and see what is possible at Page.

Linda Wilson