Frank Grimes: Do you have a date for McCutcheon to re-open?

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: That depends on when the city of Richmond Heights finishes its work on McCutcheon north of the bridge. We don't want to open the bridge just to have all the traffic drive into a single lane work zone so we'll wait until they are done, which should be sometime in early December.

Dan

theresa: i live in st charles county. i use I-170 to get to my daughter who lives @ mcclausland & hwy 40. with the closing of w/b hwy 40 will I be able to take I-170 to clayton rd to mcclausland / skinner.

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: Yes. You can take I-170 south to the Brentwood Blvd exit. Take Brentwood to Clayton Road and turn left and then take Clayton Road to McCausland.

Linda Wilson

dan: I want to use e/b hwy 40 when the new section reopens. where would i exit and how would i get to the ted dewes area(chippewa and jamieson)

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: When we close the east half of I-64 from I-170 to Kingshighway on Dec 15, you will be able to use I-64 between downtown and Kingshighway. I'm not sure where you are coming from, but you will be able to take I-64 west to Kingshighway and then go south to Chippewa to Ted Drewe's.

Linda Wilson

stltom6568: I hear they are going to make the switch in one day between the open and closed portions of the project. Won't that lead to a lot of confusion? Couldn't they open the new, western portion and leave the eastern portion open for a few days and then close the eastern portion?

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: The opening and closing of the two halves of I-64 has to occur simultaneously. For one thing, the east and west pieecs of the project no longer match up at I-170. We moved the mainline about 50 feet to the north so it will fit between the west-to-north and south-to-east flyover ramps.

We also have to restripe the flyover ramps to carry eastbound I-64 to northbound I-170, northbound I-170 traffic from Eager Road, and turn the lane for northbound traffic entering from Galleria Parkway back to a merge lane. If we left everything as it is now and added the east-to-north and Eager traffic we would have six lanes of traffic trying to fit into a three lane highway. As you can probably imagine, that would not be good.

Dan

L. Koeneman: Where will be the new point of entry to 40 W exactly -- at Hanley, Brentwood, McKnight?
The new 40 E "last exit" will move from Ballas to where?

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: You will be able to enter westbound I-64 from Brentwood Boulevard, which will also be the last exit for eastbound traffic unless you are going north on I-170.

Dan

Anne: This question goes back to one last week. Although this won't be an issue much longer due to the eastern half of Hwy. 40 closing:

If you're headed south on Kingshighway and then getting onto Hwy 40 west, there are stoplights. If those lights are red, are we required to come to a full stop and wait? Or just a full stop and check for traffic and if it's clear then we can continue onto the exit. I assumed we were to wait till the light turned green, but the answer given last week seemed to indicate otherwise. If you could clarify, that'd be great.

Thanks!

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: Our engineers are looking into this so I don't have a complete answer. At any red light, it is legal to make a right turn on a red after you have come to a complete stop and it is clear to turn. Our engineers are looking to see if we need extra signage at this ramp at Kingshighway. It is important to add that this right turn on the ramp is only red when the left turn traffic is coming down the ramp, so you should have to wait for traffic anyway if there is a red light. The light is green at all other times. But again, unless the intersection says no right turn on red, it is legal to make a right on a red after a full stop and it is safe to go.

Linda Wilson

Kim: When the west part of 40 reopens, will that alleviate some of the traffic congestion around Clayton and Ballas?

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: When I-64 opens on December 15 from I-270 to I-170, it should relieve some of the traffic congestion at Clayton and Ballas. There was always traffic on Ballas in front of the two hospitals and the schools. But the extra traffic trying to detour the closure should be gone.

Linda Wilson

Mr. X: To the casual observer, it appears that very little work is taking place at the actual I-170/Eager Rd. intersection. I thought this interchange was supposed to be completed before construction starts on the second half of I-64, but due to the lack of progress I am left to wonder if it will be finished by the Dec. 15 deadline. Have there been any problems at this intersection, or is just that there are more important things to finish first? Thanks.

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: There aren't any problems at Eager and I-170 that would prevent it from being completed in time for the December 15 deadline. We're currently in the process of finishing the southbound I-170 exit to Eager so we can switch traffic over to exit on the right side of I-170 south. That should happen by the end of the month. Northbound I-170 access from Eager Road will reopen once we close the east half of the project.

Dan

Pete: Hi Dan/Linda...

Great job so far on the construction. Hopefully, the east phase goes as smoothly as the west phase has.

Regarding alternate routes for 2009, I'm a little concerned about westbound traffic flow on Forest Park Parkway at Skinker, particularly around evening rush. That intersection handles a lot of pedestrian traffic coming from/to Wash U. Since there's no dedicated right turn lane on the westbound Parkway, the right lane backs up as cars turning north on Skinker wait for pedestrians to cross Skinker. By the time pedestrians have crossed, there's little time left for cars in the right lane of the Parkway to cross the intersection. Is there any solution to keep traffic in both westbound lanes moving freely? Maybe create a specific signal for pedestrians only, where all vehicular traffic stops for a short period of time...and then pedestrians are prevented from crossing until the next pedestrian-only cycle begins.

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: Thanks for the thoughtful comments at Skinker and the Parkway. This intersection is managed by the City of St. Louis. I will pass along your concerns about the pedestrian traffic movement and see what they can do. I know they are working on this intersection. A key thing to keep in mind with the traffic on all alternate routes is to try to avoid the peak of rush. If you can avoid the peak by even as little as 15 to 30 minutes, it can save you a lot of time sitting in traffic. Peak is typically 7:15-8 a.m. and 4:30-5:30 p.m.

Linda Wilson

Rae: Hi! Not really a question, but a number of readers have noted they will not have any problems using the alternate routes of Manchester, Forest Park Parkway, Page, ML King etc. during the east section closing, because they have been free and clear of traffic during the west section shutdown.

Please, a reminder that those routes will quickly fill up with other drivers. Page west of I-170 has been a beast to get through during the typical rush hours since the west end closing of I-64/40. I do hope the appropriate communities will get ALL traffic lights synchronized...Forest Park Parkway is going to be a parking lot. I'm lucky enough to have not been affected by the reconstruction, except for Page occasionally.

Thanks for your time, you've both been super!

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: Thanks for the note and it is a good reminder. MoDOT, St. Louis City and County are all working on the traffic signals to make them move traffic as best as possible. But, one of the keys to success is drivers. When we closed I-64 on January 2, we had traffic spread out over three hours for rush hour in the morning and evening. By the end of February, this crunched back down to one hour for morning and one hour for evening. Even the best signals can't handle it when everyone uses the road at once. People need to consider if they can move their hours even just 15-30 minutes can make a big difference. Page and I-170 is absolutely full of traffic from7:30-8 a.m. and then it is OK after that. Actually 7:45 to 8 is the worst as everyone tries to get to work at 8 a.m. Just a little difference in time would make a huge difference for traffic.

Thank you for the reminder to all readers.

Linda Wilson

Dixielee: Will the Hwy 270 traffic get any worse because of this Phase II? Please let the holidays go by without closing anythign else down.

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: If anything, I would think north and south I-270 traffic around I-64 would only get better. All the drivers who currently use it to get to I-70 or I-44 eastbound will now be able to continue east on I-64 so that should help reduce some of the traffic load. As I already described, when we open the west half the east half has to be closed. That's the only way it can work.

Dan

goat314: I will like to know when MDOT will actually start fulfilling it's job as the Department of Transportation and not the Department of Highways and Urban Sprawl? MDOT is a joke and nothing more than a large special interest bureaucracy (far far worst than Metro). I guess the BIG OIL lobbyist have bought you guys out, because it seems like you guys have never heard of public transportation.

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: We are a Department of Transportation and we do have staff who work on rail, port, airport and public transit issues statewide. The state constitution limits our ability to fund these projects. Money for other modes of transportation comes out of the general revenue fund for the state and the distribution of these funds is done by the State Legislature and Governor. Highways and bridges in Missouri are funded through a 17 cent tax when you buy gasoline and part of the sales tax on buying cars and renewing licenses and plates. These funds, by state constitution, can only be spent on roads and bridges.

Linda Wilson

Gloves Off: While not directly related to the I-64 planned reconstruction, I was wondering if you had any information about the schedule of completion for the the section of Jefferson between Choteau & I-64. Also, are there plans to shut down Compton between Choteau & I-64?

Thanks - South City Blues Season Ticket Holder

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: The City of St. Louis is rebuilding the Jefferson viaduct just south of 40. It is supposed to reopen in December. I am not aware of any plans to close Compton soon.

Linda Wilson

adam_lamore: I live in Richmond Heights on one of the handful of streets that crosses Highway 40. Right now, I park my car on the street in front of my house. Will street parking be eliminated on these streets to maximize traffic flow once the highway shuts down?

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: These streets are Richmond Heights responsibility, so it will be the city's decision. I am not aware of any parking bans planned at this time.

Linda Wilson

Tom: When will the McCutcheon overpass be opened?

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: We don't have an exact date yet. We are coordinating our bridge work with the city of Richmond Heights street work on McCutcheon between I-64 and Clayton road. Both need to reopen together and should happen in early December.

Linda Wilson

Jim: Forest Park Parkway will obviously be a major artery during the 2nd leg. While drivers headed downtown on the Parkway could get off on Southbound Kingshighway and then continue east on 40/64, I would suspect most would stay on the Parkway until it rejoins 40 around Compton. Will the stoplights between Kingshighway and Grand be "re-timed" to handle the increased traffic, or does that fall out of the jurisdiction of this project?

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: We have been coordinating our efforts with the City of St Louis, which is working on synchronizing all its traffic signals. The Forest Park Parkway signals are included in that.

Dan

stlroger: Is there any information on when the Jefferson Ave bridge will be opened in the city. That would save me from the congestion caused by the next shutdown.

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: The City of St Louis tells us that the Jefferson bridge will reopen by the end of the year.

Dan

catsinmo: Traffic is bad on Forest Park Parkway now. How do you expect it to be after the 40 switchover?

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: We do expect Forest Park Parkway to have extremely heavy traffic when the east half of I-64 closes. It is one of the closest alternate routes. Similar to how crowded Clayton and Ladue Roads have been this past year, the Parkway will be the worst for the east half. The County and City are working hard to make sure the signals are timed and ready to go. But, part of the answer has to be the drivers. Motorists really need to consider adjusting their travel times. Try to avoid 7-8 a.m. and 4:30-5:30 p.m. MetroLink is also a great alternative and it runs right down the Parkway from Clayton all the way to downtown. If you don't need to be on the Parkway to get to your work, school or home address, you should consider taking another alternate route.

Linda Wilson

rschreckenberg: Is there any expectation that the traffic on 270 will improve as a result of the opening of the western section of 40?

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: Yes.

Dan

I would add that it may get better, but there will still be a lot of people using it trying to get from I-270 to downtown or vice versus. You still won't be able to go end to end on I-64, so that means people will still have to use I-270 to I-70 or I-44 to make that move.

Linda Wilson

Kirk Boschert: I congratulate MoDOT for completing the first half early. I may have missed this question, so please bear with me. With the economy struggling as it is, would it not be prudent to keep both portions of 40/64 open until after the Christmas/Holiday shopping season. Anything that might assist people getting around to merchants this shopping season would seem a prudent thing to do.

Is this possible?

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: Unfortunately, it is not possible. The area at I-170 no longer has pavement on I-64. So the west half and the east half don't connect anymore. Also the ramps at I-170 will not work with both ends open at this point. So, we have to go from one to the other.
MoDOT engineers are closely monitoring traffic and will be concentrating on weekend shopping especially near the malls on the big shopping days to help move traffic as best as possible.

Linda Wilson

Kirk: Congrats to MoDOT for completing the first half of the 40/64 project early. I may have missed this question, so, please bear with me.

With the economy struggling the way it is, would it not be prudent to keep both halves of 40/64 open during the Christmas/Holiday season. This might facilitate shoppers getting to merchants during the shopping season.

Has this been discussed?

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: See my answer on this. I think you may have typed this twice.

Bart: Is there a date set for when the I-270/Dorsett Road interchange will be rebuilt? The last I heard, Edward Jones had made a financial contribution to help move the schedule up. I've heard the relocation of Progress Parkway begins this year.

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: The I-270 and Dorsett interchange will be rebuilt, but not until I-64 is complete. We are currently planning to start construction in 2010. The City of Maryland Heights is getting ready to start the relocation of Progress Parkway, but I don't have any specific date information on that project.

Linda Wilson

catsinmo: When will all of the traffic webcams get turned on? I see one on 170 near Ladue but it isn't on Gatewayguide.com

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: We will have several new cameras turn on hopefully in late December with the opening of the west half of I-64. There will be new cameras on the west end and new changeable message boards.

Linda Wilson

ibleedblue1968@: Thanks for your efforts.

My question pertains to the congestion every morning and evening on I-270. It appears that the issue stems from the railroad bridge over I-270 between Dougherty Ferry and Big Bend that causes there to be only 3 lanes each way. Is there any discussion about redoing that bridge or eliminating it, since the trains could take the route over I-270 just south of Big Bend's auto bridge to get to the same destinations?
If this isn't a priority, how do we get it to be a priority?

Thanks for your consideration on this.

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: The two railroad bridges on I-270 both north and south of Big Bend are a choke point for traffic. It actually affects both morning and evening rush hour. The railroad bridges are different railroad lines. We cannot close the line. In order to have a wider railroad bridge you have to build a new one and keep the existing one operational at all times. As you can imagine this is a major problem to trying to do something here. We have reviewed this for many years, but at this time have no plans to do this. It would be extremely costly and require a lot of expensive property.

Linda Wilson

John: Is Spoede Road open

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: We opened the bridge yesterday afternoon. You still cannot access I-64, but you can cross over it on Spoede.

Linda Wilson

adam_lamore: I live near Clayton and Big Bend and am trying to plan my commute to Olive and 270. I have been taking 40 W from Bellevue to 170 N to Olive W. When the new section of 40 opens, I believe that taking it will be faster than Olive. How would you recommend I get to 40? I was thinking Big Bend to Forest Park Parkway W to 170 S to 40 W, but the Parkway worries me. Any recommendations would be welcome. Thanks!

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: I can think of a couple of options you might want to consider. You could take Clayton west to Brentwood then go south on Brentwood to Galleria Parkway and use the ramp to northbound I-170. You could also continue south on Brentwood to the new ramp to westbound I-64 and take that out to either Lindbergh or I-270 to Olive.

Linda Wilson

Luna2004: Will the shoulders be restored on Clayton and Ladue after the western portion of the highway 40 work is completed? We cyclists would really appreciate their return.

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: Clayton and Ladue roads are going to remain as they are until the I-64 project is completely finished in December 2009. So you have at least one more year. At that time, St. Louis County and the cities of Ladue and Frontenac will decide how they want the roads returned to the cities. Each city will decide what changes they want to keep. But nothing will change until after I-64 is complete in another year.

Linda Wilson

Chris: When will the Spoede road overpass be finished and ready for use?

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: The Spoede Road bridge reopened yesterday afternoon.

Dan

Chris: Why is the Hanley Bridge closing down? i thought the original plan left this bridge open with at least 1 lane in each direction during the duration aof the project.

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: That was the original plan. Earlier this year the County asked MoDOT and its contractor to include more work at Hanley to make some significant improvements to Hanley and Eager and to build those with our project. The only way to get all of that work done and still finish it on time was to expedite the work and close Hanley. The traffic on Hanley will be detoured with two lanes directly onto Eager and then with direct access to I-170 or down to Brentwood and the reverse trip as well. We have a good detour plan in place with the County. The Hanley bridge will not be closing on December 15 but should sometime shortly after. We will provide notice of the date. It will be closed a maximum of 8 months.

Linda Wilson

Kurits Jr: Hi Dan & Linda,

Congratulations to you and your teams for opening the first half over two weeks early! A tremendous accomplishment.

Have you had a chance to speak with your traffic engineers regarding the signage at the Ladue on-ramp to Southbound Forest Park Parkway? Is the 'yield' sign still required on that on-ramp? And is 'exit only' required below the Forest Park Parkway exit sign?

Thanks!

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: I did pass on your concerns. They are working on the signs. The exit only sign should be install soon. I don't know the decision on the yield sign.

Linda Wilson

jg_lehmann: besides the Parkway, what other east-west routes look to be useful? Will Lindell or Manchester have better timed lights?

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: yes. Lindell and Manchester will have better timed lights as will Olive and Page.

Linda Wilson

Chris Stevenson: It says online, that the Jefferson Bridge construction from Highway 64/40 to Choteau is slated to be completed this December. Is this still on schedule? With the second phase of 64 being shut down soon and all the bridges going with it Jefferson needs to open.

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: Yes. The City will have the Jefferson bridge open sometime in December.

Linda Wilson

chris g: Will the intersection of Hanley and Eager Roads be fixed as proposed during the 2009 shutdown or was that plan approved? Thanks

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: Yes. The Hanley and Eager intersection will be improved. The County is contributing additional money to add to our contract the additional work at that intersection.

Linda Wilson

Chris: When will the Spoede overpass be reopened?

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: It reopened yesterday.

Linda Wilson

Jennie: This question is about congestion on Page at Woodson. Because of the highway closed there is more traffic on Page going East and the stop light getting onto Page from either side of Woodson only lets 4 cars through during rush hour. Are there any plans on changing the timing of the stop light now that the second part of Hwy 64 is closing?

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: I will pass this on to the engineers. The signals on Page are timed to favor Page. It may take longer to get on for a side street, but once you are on Page you should move through more lights without stopping. That is the tradeoff and balance we have to make with every side street. I will see what they can do. They are making timing adjustments with the east half closure of I-64 and will be actively monitoring Page and all the other roads after the switch to make adjustments based on how traffic shifts arounds.

Linda Wilson

jjk: I like the street lamps on the new Spoede Bridge. Why are there lights only on one side? It looks off balanced and unfinished. The lights in the City are on both sides.

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: The lights on all the I-64 bridges we are building are for the sidewalks. This is pedestrian lighting. We have a sidewalk only on the eastside of the bridge, so that is where the lights are.

Linda Wilson

Erika: Is there a way to put up those "dividers" like on Brentwood by the Galeria on Forest Parkway where it splits to go 170 North/170 South.

Do you have any plans in place to help keep traffic moving on the parkway in the clayton area??

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: I will share you divider idea with our engineers. I don't think they have plans for this at this time. St. Louis County is working on signal timing on Forest Park Parkway.

Linda Wilson

Tracker: Are you saying that the north bound ramp from Brentwood to 170 won't open until after 12/15/08?

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: I assume that you mean the northbound ramp from Eager Road to I-170 since there isn't a northbound ramp from Brentwood. Northbound access from Eager Road will reopen with the west half of the project and the closure of the east half.

Dan

John: I know it's a massive job trying to relieve traffic congestion during this project and I must say that it's going better than I expected so far. My question is how do "you" monitor traffic on secondary roads (i.e. Clayton, Page, Hanley, Manchester, etc.) to determine if the timing of traffic signals needs to be adjusted? Also, is there a way for drivers to advise you where they are experiencing the most traffic, so you could take a look at the timing of lights?

Dan Galvin and Linda Wilson: People call our info-line all the time with questions or to report problems. It's 314-524-9191.

Dan