Questions about street lights or highway construction? Ask the Road Crew, 1 p.m.

Questions about street lights or highway construction? Ask the Road Crew, 1 p.m.

Ask the experts from the Missouri Department of Transportation, St. Louis and St. Charles counties and St. Louis City your questions about highways and roads. The live chat starts at 1 p.m. on Wednesday.

    Last week, DividebyZero asked about a flashing yellow at southbound Rock Hill where it meets with Route 30 and Route 21.  Our traffic team looked at that area and determined that it would not be safe to put a flashing yellow arrow there.  They determined that any vehicle in the northbound left turn lane would significantly impact the southbound turn lane's view of any oncoming traffic. Andrew Gates, MoDOT Communications
    This is a follow up from my question last week re: the traffic light sequencing at Gravois & Geyer…the issue tends to be after rush hour/nighttime. Also, just to clarify, there are only 2 lanes south/west bound Gravois there so it certainly seems that a flashing yellow left hand turn signal would be safe & useful. Thank you.
    Thanks for sharing the info on when you say the issues are at the Gravois and Geyer intersection.  I should have phrased my answer a little better last week and mentioned that MoDOT doesn't put in flashing arrows where there are three or more lanes that traffic has to cross.  In this situation, you have two through lanes and a turn lane that traffic would need to cross -- three lanes -- that would make it unsafe to have a flashing yellow there. Andrew Gates, MoDOT Communications
    Thank you for all that you collectively do to keep the roads safe. I am not sure who has jurisdiction over this, but can the potholes on-ramp to westbound Watson from southbound Lindbergh be patched? There are several potholes on the ramp. Thanks!
    Thanks -- I have shared that with our maintenance team to check into.  Andrew Gates, MoDOT Communications
    Gravois, being a state Highway never has highway Patrol on it! The problem, as I sit at Weber at Gravois, cars are zipping by at 60+ mph like they are on an interstate. Gravois from Laclede to STL city limits is a business district! Lower the speed limit! Gravois is almost as bad as Grand in the city!
    I lived in this area 15 years and I’ve never seen radar on Gravois! Taxes should cover this safety issue, I don’t need to hear that this is the responsibility of County
    Police, the Highway Patrol and County Police are in the business of keeping all of us safe! Just placing a police vehicle or highway patrol vehicle on the shoulder
    even with out radar slows people down. You see highway patrol cars just parked along interstates just observing traffic which reminds people to be safe.
    Placing unmarked police vehicles in traffic as it moves along to catch these young people who seem to be causing accidents because of lack of respect would help.
    After being ticketed, a sizable fine and for repeat offenders, some jail time! A serious effort needs to be made to stop the carnage on our roads!
    How about some free public service announcements on radio and tv! “Use your turn signals so others will be alerted”, “Follow the speed limit”, even throw in “State and local fines for littering “. You never see reminders like this on media, not even from insurance companies!
    Thank you for your observation. Although the Missouri Highway Patrol is a partner with the Missouri Department of Transportation, they do not work for the DOT.  You would have to address your concerns about their presence, and their efforts, directly with them. As far as your comments about public service announcements, we do share several options with the media that they can use in those areas where they consider PSAs. Many of those deal with safety issues. We also have several safety campaigns through the year where we share specific safety messages through paid advertising. We do share messages such as you encourage on our overhead message boards as long as we don't need to use the boards for other, higher priority messages.   Andrew Gates, MoDOT Communications
    Aubuchon Road re-opened to traffic last Friday afternoon (December 2, 2022). The St. Louis County-maintained road had been closed since last year after a bridge failed immediately west of Teson Road in Hazelwood. The new bridge, which spans Cowmire Creek, is shown in the photo. David G. Wrone, St. Louis County's Department of Transportation 
    Speaking of Gravois….

    A few years ago i believe that there was a public meeting about sidewalks and improvements for Gravois Road (Hwy 30) between Mackenzie and River Des Peres. Is that project still on the calendar and can you estimate when it might begin?

    I saw that Manchester will soon be improved with sidewalks west of 270 - and I am really liking the sidewalks and other improvements to Manchester between Lindbergh and Hanley (?). These are very good things, in my view! The improvements will make the road safer for drivers as well as pedestrians - and improve nearby quality of life too. Which may not be the goal but is a nice benefit. It will be great if Gravois can get some attention amidst the Manchester projects.

    Thank you for doing these Q&A sessions.
    MoDOT has a project on Route 30 between 141 and the city limits currently planned for 2025.  I would imagine that we will be sharing more on the specifics on that project in the next year or so.  Andrew Gates, MoDOT Communications
    When are youa ll going to do something about the ridiculous condition of the fast lane in both north and south bound 270.

    Pothole after pothole after pothole after pothole after pothole after pothole after pothole after pothole
    Depends on which area you are asking about -- I-270 is more than 30 miles long.  We have a pavement repair contract that was awarded last month to work on the inside lane of I-270 northbound and southbound between Ladue and Manchester.  That should be starting next year.  Our crews are out regularly patching potholes, so if you have more specifics on locations where you see them on I-270, we can certainly pass them along.  You can share specific information (direction, lane, mile marker/nearest exit) with our customer service team 24/7 at 314-275-1500 or 1-888-ASK-MODOT (275-6636).  Andrew Gates, MoDOT Communciations
    Any future projects around improving bridge/road/intersection at Grand & Chouteau? With new Target and Top Golf additions coming to the block, just wondering if a complete repave (instead of continuous patching) or expansion is also in the works with concern to potential increased traffic? Also the bridge on Grand over the train tracks looks like deck is disintegrating. Any data point on the health of the bridge overall? Thanks!
    Thank you for bringing this concern to my attention. Chouteau between Grand & Compton, also the surrounding area, is undergoing major development at this time. As with every major construction project, new road design and paving is a focus of improving efficiency of traffic...Larry Tyler / Streets & Traffic Liaison
    For the City, why are major street improvements like repairs and paving left up to the individual alderman for that ward? Major streets like Kingshighway and Hampton fall in multiple wards. Why isn't that left up the Street Division?
    Thank you for bringing this concern to my attention. Most funding for right of ways is included in Aldermanic ward budgets. Streets like Kingshighway, which cover multiple wards is equally funded. Other right of way projects are covered by grants issued to Board of Public Service on behalf of City of Saint Louis...Larry Tyler  / Streets & Traffic Liaison
    The onramp to Highway 40 at Clayton and Skinker seems to confuse drivers. I've had people from the right-most left-turn lane go straight on to the on-ramp, and I've had people in the left-most lane that runs on to the freeway end up in right-lane lane when they cross Skinker, apparently assuming that the right-most lane is only for people turning right. Needless to say it's a bit disconcerting when a driver confidently pulls into your lane while you're in it and assumes you're not going to be there. On more than one occasion I have ended up on the shoulder of the on-ramp. Can anything be done to clarify to drivers what they're supposed to do at that intersection? The current signage doesn't seem to be sufficient.
    Thank you for bringing this concern to my attention. I'll personally check out this intersection for proper signage and lane striping...Larry Tyler  / Streets & Traffic Liaison
    On southbound Grant Rd, between Big Bend and Watson are two large pavement drop-offs at patches. Both were made by the water company. Can the patches be improved and brought to grade?
  • I believe Grant Road is maintained by the municipality of Webster Groves.  You would need to reach out to them.  You might start here: Form Center • City of Webster Groves • CivicEngage (webstergrovesmo.gov). Andrew Gates, MoDOT Communications
    The center lane at Forest Parkway and Kingshighway going East has been blocked for months the lane across the intersection is open and the far lane is blocked. There is no apparent reason for the center lane black that causes a huge back up on Forest Parkway and unnecessary lane changes after the intersection. The far right lane is right turn only. Why is this lane still blocked?
    Can anything be done to remove the lane blocking at Forest Parkway Eastbound at Kingshighway? That are gets very backed up going down to one lane and then opens back to 2 lanes after the intersection. The far right lane is right turn only and the back up blocks those trying to get to the far right lane. Its been blocked for no apparent reason for months.
  • Thank you for bringing this concern to my attention. I'll personally inspect Forest Park Parkway for issues that impede traffic flow...Larry Tyler  / Streets & Traffic Liaison
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