urbanSTL

Ahh, darn, thought you did them yourself. Either/or. I'm so graphically illiterate.

Updated word on the street is I-64 will be opening on Dec 7 due to the wettest October on record...

Somebody better tell Google Maps. According to them, it's already open.

PsychoTim wrote:Somebody better tell Google Maps. According to them, it's already open.

Google doesn't care about the exact schedule of opening... if MODOT has the sensors on - they are going to display the results.

PsychoTim wrote:Somebody better tell Google Maps. According to them, it's already open.

I'm not sure if my Sprint navigation system, TeleNav, ever had it closed.

n e w s

Missouri Department of Transportation





November 6, 2009 - Media Advisory



I-64 Reopening Date To Be Announced Today





ST. LOUIS - MoDOT Director Pete Rahn and Gateway Constructors will announce



the opening date for the east half of the I-64 project at a news conference



today. The media are invited to the announcement, which will be held at



9:30 a.m. on the new ramp connecting Hanley Road to Brentwood Boulevard.



To access the site, take Hanley Road to the ramp on the north side of the



highway that connects to Brentwood Boulevard.

My guess a month from today or so...December 7

City businesses should be anxiously awaiting Dec 7. I for one am looking forward to having convenient access to downtown once again. It’s been a long year.

I can't help but think that my business has suffered somewhat the last two years. Many of our clients come from West County, and I could see how some of them wouldn't want to "struggle" all the way into the City.



I don't use 40 much myself, but I'm really looking forward to the re-opening.

kustramo wrote:

Grover wrote:Don't mean to spam the good folks on this forum, but here are links to a couple posts I've done looking at the "New I-64". The first is basically I-270 to I-170 and the second is the I-170 and Hanley Road area. Next will be Big Bend to Kingshighway and a post looking at pedestrian accessibility to Forest Park including, but not limited to, I-64. Again, please feel free not to click if that is your preference (of course you won't be cool unless you do).



http://www.stlurbanworkshop.com/2009/11 ... other.html



http://www.stlurbanworkshop.com/2009/11 ... er_04.html

I love the density maps (although I'm kind of a dork about maps).

Kustramo, nice to know that I'm not the only map dork out there.



And Grover, I'm late in weighing in on this one, but I completely agree with your assessment of the first phase of the highway.



Like you, I would have liked to have seen our leaders take a bolder step than merely shutting down the highway. I think converting the highway into a parkway (which could still be designated U.S. Highway 40, with I-64 running concurrently with the 270/255 south loop) would have been the most practical solution. It would have minimized the impact on mid-county communities, and particularly in the city, it would have provided a unique opportunity to rejoin severed neighborhoods.



I also agree about the futility and wastefulness of adding lanes west of Interstate 170. While I am impressed with MoDOT's strategy of shutting down the highway to save motorists years of headaches and delays, and Gateway Contractors' work on the project, I think the additional lanes are such a waste, and they will only add to congestion in the long run.



I tried to get past my disappointment with the sound walls, but even during the spring and summer, the verdant atmosphere just beyond the walls couldn't disguise the impression of the walls as eyesores. Simply put, they are hideous, and it's plain to see that very little was done to minimize the visual blight they create.



Last week I drove under the highway at Warson Road, near its intersection with Clayton Road. This is where the impact of the sound walls is at its worst IMHO, as the sound walls continue over the highway along the edges of the overpass. I haven't been to California in about 25 years, but that's the last time I remember seeing this much concrete along a highway that wasn't part of a multiplex interchange.



So as an end result, we have a much better highway than the one that was there before, and MoDOT exceeded many expectations along the way. Still, there are many disappointments with this project IMHO, and we're going to have to live with those for a long time.

Living a block off of Manchester, I take Manchester -> McCausland -> Clayton -> Brentwood -> 64 -> 270 -> Olive and it only takes about 25 mins in the morning and 30 in the afternoon. Can't wait to cut Clayton and Brentwood out of the equation! Very interested to see what my new commute time will be!

Aren't the sound walls federally mandated, though? I'm pretty sure they're required to evaluate the noise impact and build them if it's above a certain decibel level on all major highway projects. I mean, they are ugly, and I'd rather drive through the forest canopy of the old 40 than the concrete canyon of the new one, but it wasn't really MoDOT's decision.

I thought they were going to stain the walls and do landscaping still. This project is supposed to last through 2010.

I thought sound walls were mandated only if lanes were added to a highway. Perhaps it is also tied to the decibel level that property owners adjacent to the right-of-way experience, but I'm not sure. Does anyone know more about the requirements for sound walls?

Big Bend opens tomorrow.



http://www.thenewi64.org/Newsroom.do