Chat with the Road Crew at 1 p.m. Feb. 19
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, Feb. 19.
-
-
The only work we are doing on Route 30 is a box culvert replacement about two miles west of Route 141. Heading east, the 60mph signs are on both sides of the road near Lakenny. Heading west the 60mph signs are on both sides of the road past Valley Dell, before Sugar Creek. Andrew Gates, MoDOT Communications
-
-
-
You have to give interstate traffic merging into another interstate it's own lane (so I-55 needs its own lane as it is merging into I-44). Since there are only two through westbound lanes, that leaves one lane open for westbound I-44 traffic. To get that one lane, we have had to merge the two ramp lanes together before getting to Jefferson. Andrew Gates, MoDOT Communications
-
I'm also curious as to why Modot favors the morning commute. For all of the lane closures that have occurred on 44 these past 5+ years, Modot has always closed more westbound lanes than eastbound lanes. For two years, westbound was down to 2 lanes while eastbound was just down to 3 lanes. Is this intentional?
-
Originally, we had tried three lanes in each direction, but found that the narrower lanes created more issues (there was no place for stalled traffic (or crashes) to move to the side, and the narrow lanes, with the large amount of truck traffic, made many drivers concerned.) Having two lanes in one direction and three in the other lets us keep the lanes a little wider, and traffic moves better through the two wider lanes than through the three more narrow lanes. Eastbound traffic is significantly heavier in the morning rush than westbound, but is only slightly less heavy than evening rush; Since there is more overall traffic heading east than west, we chose to give westbound two lanes and eastbound three lanes. Andrew Gates, MoDOT Communications
-
-
-
-
-
-
Last week, a chat participant asked: "On Treetop Village Drive at Big Bend, is it possible for the road to be textured or grooved? The road ends in a short but steep hill onto Big Bend. Any sort of ice, snow or sometimes even rain and it's almost impossible for cars to make it up onto Big Bend with enough speed to cross two lanes of traffic. Often times, cars get halfway out and stuck and cars coming the other way have to stop and wait." ST. LOUIS COUNTY'S REPLY: Although as a matter of policy, we don't install grooves in pavement, our Operations group makes every effort to ensure that this street is salted in a timely manner prior to and during winter events. David Wrone, St. Louis County's Department of Transportation
-
-
-
-
-
I think there is no solution but traveling east on 40/64 between 4:15 and 5:15 there seems to be an accident between Brentwood and Skinker almost daily - I notice merging traffic from Hanley all seem to race to get as close to Big Bend - and then merge at the last second - maybe reduce speed through this area? Thanks as always gentlemen
-
Unfortunately, that is more due to drivers being aggressive than due to the speed of traffic (especially during a time when there is consistently congestion). We strongly encourage drivers to pack their patience during times of congestion, or consider adjusting when you travel in the area, or use an alternate route. Andrew Gates, MoDOT Communications
-
-
-