urbanSTL

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

Funny to go all the way back to 2005 and read all the naysayers, doomsdayers, and just plain jerks who thought this project would never be completed on time, on budget, or even at all. The disaster scenarios never played out, people got where they needed to go with minimal delays, and we got a brand new, state of the art highway in under 2 years. Some people were trying to use this project as a prop to put down downtown and the city in general. Instead, we can point to this project as an example that St. Louis is not stuck in the stone age, and yes, we are capable of having nice things.

Drove it this morning - yawn.

Drove it this morning. Took 10 minutes off my commute!



For what it's worth I would gladly add those 10 minutes or even 20 minutes back onto a commute if it was on public transit, however since that is not a realistic option from my south side home to Creve Coeur (Metro's trip planner clocks it at 1 hr. 37 min.) I'll take the new I-64/40!

Drove it to work this morning. Looks very nice. I really like the street signage on the bridges. I said that after seeing it on the west half. However, the one disturbing thing is that it still backed up, pretty much the same way at 40, going north to 170. I had to wait in the same line. I can see the same pre-construction issues, once the former commuters return, 18 wheelers, etc.. all realize the route is back and ready to go. Traffic will likely continue to bottleneck at that interchange. Disappointing! Also, I was disappointed that no lanes were added between 170 and Hampton. I knew they were not going to, but they promised leaving room for future lane expansion. I dont see it!! One more complaint. The new Eager road is a joke. One packed lane bottlenecks to 3 southbound lanes. The problem is the backup getting to the 3 lanes. People are cutting over at the last minute. It is sure to bottleneck pretty bad as traffic increases in the area. Other than those complaints, I am happy with the new 40. The entrances are very nice, especially McCausland. The old one was a joke. Once the trees and bushes grow in, the highway will really look nice. Overall, good job and congrats to Gateway Constructors.

It will probably be another 2 years before I drive the new 64 from Kingshighway to 270. I stay in the city!!!

I went out of the way from class tonight to drive the new section of 64/40 from Big Bend Road to Kingshighway. Except for the nasty soundwalls between Bellevue and McCausland avenues, I was thoroughly impressed.



BTW, what is the speed limit on the new highway? I was having so much fun on a relatively deserted new highway that, uh, I wasn't paying attention.

I don't take the highway very often, but lots of my customers do. I'm very glad to have this behind us.

BTW, for some reason, it irritates me that Kingshighway is signed "Kingshighway Blvd." from 64/40.



I realize that's the official street designation, and I suppose it has something to do with the medians near Barnes-Jewish and the long stretch through north St. Louis that has a median. But I always thought it was really redundant- it's a highway and a boulevard? Maybe it's just me.

I will be interested to see how long it is before big trucks find the new I-64. One of the pleasures of driving down the old highway was that there were almost zero big trucks. They didn't fit under the old arched overpasses -- especially in the outer lanes. Now that everything is 15 feet or higher, that restriction is gone.



My daughter and I rode the highway from Hanley to Kingshighway and back on our bicycles Sunday. Smooth as silk. The bundled up walkers all looked like ice skaters on the nearly white pavement.

Although it's too bad the low overpasses are gone, I wouldn't be surprised if the big rigs still avoid highway 40. It really doesn't go anywhere they want to: 55 south to Memphis/New Orleans, 70 West to KC/Denver, and 44 to OKC and points west and south are the logical truck routes. Even if they want to get to the cargo and warehouses at Lambert and Earth City, they're still going to take I-70, especially when the new I-70 Mississippi Bridge opens. So fortunately, unless they have a delivery to make in Frontenac or Chesterfield, there's really no reason for the longhaulers to mess with 40.