Ask the Road Crew
Is your route to work giving you a headache because of potholes, poorly timed lights or street construction? Let the experts know, and ask them your questions about highways and roads. The live chat starts at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 18.
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MoDOT crews did a terrible job as per usual. No surprise though...it is a garbage operation. It showed its true colors after the Stan Span was finished when the depressed lanes through downtown were just just relabeled. MoDOT said “screw St. Louis...we need to keep our maintainable mileage up”. Absolute garbage organization and the biggest institutional force in the area behind the sprawl and flight we have seen over the decades. -
MoDOT crews were in early Sunday morning, and we had crews working around the clock, even through last night, working on interstates and state numbered and lettered routes -- in the city, however, the city plows all the roadways except the interstates. As of yesterday morning, most of the interstates were mostly clear, with work through the day to clear ramps, shoulders and the remaining lower volume state routes. As far as your comment on the interstate by the Arch Grounds, we worked extensively with the city, park and other regional partners on the Park Over the Highway project. There was no interest regionally in removing a section of federal highway (which would have also required buyoff from the Federal government. The Park over the Highway is much safer for pedestrians and cyclists than what was there prior to the project, and made significant adjustments to traffic flow into and out of the city to bring the roadway more into line with current traffic patterns, keeps traffic flowing well into and out of the downtown area, and significantly improves the movement of traffic between Illinois and Missouri. Andrew Gates, MoDOT Communications -
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I don't have specific information on what Illinois is using to treat their roadways. I can say that the crews in any organization working to plow and treat the roadways (whether IDOT, MoDOT, county or municipality) are very dedicated, and do everything they can with the resources they have to battle the snow. There are some differences between the two states -- Missouri is a little more hilly that Illinois is right across the river, we have a lot more population density (which means that there are more vehicles on the roadway, and the potential for more crashes) and we have a good amount of multi-lane interstate in the St. Louis region in which we focus. But, again, the dedication of the crews working around the clock in adverse conditions, no matter where you are, is second to none. Andrew Gates, MoDOT Communications
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That is IDOT work, and I haven't seen any updated information from them on that. Since they aren't in the chat room, you would have to reach out to them:. Andrew Gates, MoDOT Communications
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Not snow related - for MODOT - I came across a confusing traffic signal, on the EB exit ramp, from 370 to Elm, in St Charles, there is a single, pole-mounted, left-turn signal located in the SE gore area. It's set up for SB Elm to EB 370 traffic, but because of the interchange's geometry, it's equally visible to traffic exiting 370, wanting to turn left/north. This creates a situation, where absent any conflicting information, a collision could easily happen, since both drivers believe that they're receiving a protected green for a left turn. Thanks for whatever improvements you can make.
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I have passed your observations along to the traffic engineer for the St. Charles County area. That team will take a look at the signal to see if they may be able to make any adjustments (or improve signing) to make it clearer. If I hear anything further back from them, I will let you know. Andrew Gates, MoDOT Communications
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Can the City make plans to change the signals at Kingshighway and McRee? There are no dedicated left arrows for the traffic on McRee. Starting at 6:00 am each morning, the through traffic on McRee is constant throughout the green light cycle. The left hand turn traffic has no choice but to stack out in the intersection and then shoot through when the light turns red (effectively declaring their own left hand arrow). On many cycles 4-6 vehicles run the red, including school buses. This creates a dangerous situation and in turn shortens the time for the next step in the cycle (left turn from Kingshighway). When can this be fixed?
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The sensors at Lindbergh and East Watson/Rott Road do not appear to be functioning properly. I believe it's at all times of the day, but it is especially noticeable in the early morning (05:30 - 06:00). Over the past few days, I've seen northbound traffic stopped to give a protected left to southbound traffic with no one waiting, southbound traffic stopped for a protected left for phantom northbound traffic (which is especially curious since this is usually a leading left), and both directions of Lindbergh stopped with no traffic on Rott or East Watson. Thanks as always for attending these chats.
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Ashby Road Bridge will close at 9 a.m. Friday (December 20, 2019) immediately north of Bauer Boulevard, in Olivette.
The bridge will remain closed until late next summer.
St. Louis County’s Department of Transportation decided to close the 51-year-old bridge after an employee discovered a 4’ x 4’ hole in a southbound lane this past weekend. Officials say the pavement failure was only the latest in a series of similar issues afflicting the structure, which is scheduled for replacement in 2020.
“The bridge’s concrete driving surface is already very heavily patched, and in the interest of public safety, we’re closing it now, rather than waiting until the replacement project begins next spring, as we had originally planned,” explained Deanna Venker, director of St. Louis County’s Departments of Transportation and Public Works.
Northbound Ashby motorists can circumvent the closure by turning left on Bauer and driving west to Lindbergh Boulevard, where they will turn right to access Page. Southbound Ashby drivers can take westbound Page to southbound Lindbergh, where they will turn left (east) onto Bauer.
Ashby Road connects Page Boulevard to Olive Boulevard. The soon-to-be shuttered four-lane bridge carries approximately 13,000 vehicles on a typical week day. The structure is 156-feet long and spans a network of railroad tracks owned by Union Pacific Railroad.
Department of Transportation personnel have closely monitored the bridge in recent years, with bridge inspectors examining the structure once a week. As with previous issues, the most-recent failure resulted in a large piece of concrete driving pavement crumbling and falling through the stabilizing steel rebar onto which concrete is poured.
Rather than apply another patch to this latest chasm, officials opted for closure.
“A significant percentage of the bridge’s driving surface already consists of asphalt patches,” Venker continued. “And at this point, it’s clear that the bridge has decayed to the point where closure is the prudent option.”
Under a $2.1 million contract, Gershenson Construction will begin removing and replacing the bridge’s deck/pavement early next spring. The project is expected to be complete by next August.
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When you turn west onto Glades Ave from McCausland, in the middle of the road there is maybe a 4x4 square that is lower than the rest of the pavement, and in the middle of the square is a pipe that sticks up. I swear it's been like that for at least a year. Can you get someone to make it even with the rest of the pavement, or let us know what the deal is?
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Re: the eb 64 ramp at McKnight. I know the stop sign to go right/sb on McKnight is to regulate traffic but when volume is so high that traffic backs up onto 64, isn't that more of a concern? Traffic can't turn when the sb volume is high, which causes the backup. If there was a traffic light there to go green when the ramp gets a green, you could clear the ramp faster.
The bigger question, perhaps answered later, is why McKnight is so special. You kept the off ramps from a major interstate so traffic will naturally take the exit. Why do you give that road preferential treatment, at a cost of safety on the mainline? -
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The light levels are maintained by the airport -- we passed your concern along to them, and will do so again. Lambert Tunnel Operations has let us know they are aware of the issue and are trying to work out a solution to the problem. Andrew Gates, MoDOT Communications
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Glad to see CITY OF STL participating! Can something be done about the trench across SB Kingshighway, south of Southwest/Vandeventer where the new Walgreens was built? When they tapped into the water or sewer there, the contractors left a mighty trench that gives a teeth-rattling jolt. It's across all three lanes. ALSO on SB Kingshighway, just NORTH of the Vandeventer/Southwest intersection, all three lanes have a massive DIP, just outside the new Waterway.
Thanks! -
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Thank you for info on the EB I-64/55 Poplar St Bridge split concerning the danger due to the semi's. Concerning the white line stop sensors, perhaps people are overly safety conscious to keep back from the intersection due to collisions & spin-outs hurling vehicles/parts. For my part when in the left turn lane, I stay back a few extra feet to avoid being clipped by the vehicles oncoming from my right that are turning left. The best info on stopping was to remain back of the ahead vehicle enough to see their back tires, that way I can pull out around them if necessary. Lastly, leaving too much room behind the ahead vehicle creates problems for many in that lane, or a previous intersection - too much unused lane is aggravating to having smooth traffic flow.
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Generally speaking, they do enter at the same time and the ones in the fast lane work their way across the highway to get into the gang plow formation. They don't stop traffic, but many people recognize that the safest place on the roadway is just behind the plow (although keep a good distance to prevent any treatment from spraying on your vehicle). Andrew Gates, MoDOT Communications
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That is work being completed by the Illinois Department of Transportation, who isn't on the chat room. I haven't gotten any updated info on their work along the route, so you may want to reach out to them:Andrew Gates, MoDOT Communications
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Hard to say whose this is without someone putting eyes on it. I've asked our maintenance team to check into it and see if it is on MoDOT maintained property or the city's. If it's not us, we'll make sure we share it with our partners in the city. Andrew Gates, MoDOT Communications
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