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2 mattresses hit St. Louis highways, one during yesterday's afternoon rush on 70 and this morning on 270.
Mattresses 133
Ladders 104
The final total for 2017 was mattresses 163 and ladders 150
We're way behind in the ladder category, but we just might catch up with mattresses.
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I've neglected these updates so here is the current total for mattresses and ladders which have hit St. Louis roadways this year.
Mattresses 129
Ladders 104
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For as many years as we've lived in the St. Louis area, we believed we knew our way around, but yesterday proved us wrong. We left the seminary for church in Collinsville around a quarter to 7. I was armed with information from MoDOT that only one lane of the Poplar would be open. So even though Sunday morning traffic is low, there is always a fair amount heading for the bridge and we wanted to make sure we'd be on time. That information was the only thing I saw and I always make sure to check traffic info. We drove separately so we'd have two cars in case one of us headed back to campus before the other.
Imagine my shock when I came up to Vandeventer on 64 and saw MoDOT and state police vehicles blocking any further travel on 64. We were all routed off the highway and onto Vandeventer or, in the case of some cars, straight ahead to who knows where. In past closures due to Poplar work, we were routed off on Jefferson so this was a complete surprise. I turned with all the other cars onto Vandeventer and thought it would lead to an east/west street and end at Tucker just as Jefferson always did. There were no signs showing a detour route and by the time I'd gone pretty far north and had seen none of the streets you'd normally head east on, I panicked. It was getting late. I called Dale who left later than me and he was just at the point of having to get off 64. He was shocked too. We debated how to get to the Musial since there seemed no good way to figure out how to get over to the Poplar and we didn't know by then why we had to get off and if it was somehow involved with bridge work.
There were no 64 eastbound detour signs directing us anywhere. And as time went on I was beside myself about where the heck I was and why. Dale was fit to be tied over the whole thing, not scared like I was, but irritated beyond belief we might be late for church and the complete lack of knowledge about why and how this came about.
Dale said we'd try to find a east bound surface street and since I was ahead and almost to Martin Luther King Drive I said I'd take that. Turns out I made some kind of wrong move at an intersection on KIng drive and ended up for some reason on North Grand which I stupidly kept going on until I was at the old Grand water tower. Dale called me and he was befuddled at the King and so was making all kinds of turns on various streets. I had no idea how to get to Tucker by then and was in very unfamiliar territory. Finally Dale called me after having found Cass and 20th Street and he said he'd back track to find me and lead me out of there. We finally met up at North Grand and Cass and then wound our way Tucker and the Musial.
Frankly, I still have no idea why we had to get off 64 at Vandeventer and I have gone back over all weekend traffic Tweets and news and found nothing. Our seminary field workers who are assigned to Holy Cross in Collinsville made if with no trouble. One came later for the second service and he said there was no blockage at Vandeventer. The other got off 64 and instead of taking Vandeventer went straight east and found his way onto the bridge which was totally open, no 3 lanes closed.
I just wish local news people would not ignore traffic things on Sundays. It would have been nice to know what we were in for or not in for. I guess news outlets and maybe even MoDOT don't figure there is enough traffic on Sundays to bother sending out bulletins.
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Back in 2007 MoDOT began a two year rebuilding I-64 (highway 40) from Spoede Road to Kingshighway. During that time much of one direction or another was closed so alternate routes had to be found going east and west. It was quite the experience back then. There was a grand opening in December of 2009 which allowed St. Louisans to walk around on parts of the new roadway. I took Ferdie over to take a look around and blogged about this afterward. We'd had Ferdie less than a year back then and looking at the pictures I am amazed at how young he looked.
All of this is in aid of thinking about how all this has worked out. It's tough to say the whole re-do has been a success, but it does look nice. The problems have come with the short entrance and exit ramps onto and off the road. Think Hampton and Kingshighway. There is little room for error and lots of on/off ramp traffic all day long. Also westbound from Downtown has many exit ramps on the right which are exit only.
Eastbound traffic around the Brentwood/Hanley area is tricky most days what with lanes ending at certain places and lots of on ramp traffic trying to fit into the flow. So this morning a bit of a eastbound mess snarled traffic again. If you look at this picture from the traffic reporter Rodger Brand, you can easily see the issue for vehicles trying to get through this area.
Cars are coming from the west in center and right lanes while others are entering the highway from McKnight. They flow right east into what will be the exits for 170 and Brentwood which will be two exit only lanes next to each other. Traffic not getting off must get over to the left through lots of traffic. Just past that will be the dreaded Hanley exit with lots of cars entering there and finding themselves in an exit only right lane for Big Bend.
Too many exits too close together, too much traffic, too many exit only right lanes which make for collisions almost every day. I don't know how this can be fixed, but it makes for nail biting drives many days.
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Not only did St. Louis morning commuters have to deal with snow, several other things fell onto the roads as well.
A ladder somewhere in South City, a mattress on 367, and a 5 foot by 5 foot snow boulder in left lane on 364 at 94.
Mattresses 127
Ladders 99
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MoDOT announced this morning that they have opened a third lane on the Poplar as well as the northbound Route 3 ramp to westbound 64 to the Poplar. This should help even though they're still working. Looking at my KMOV traffic app on Live Traffic I can see the westbound traffic headed to the Poplar is heavy but better than it has been while the traffic heading to the Musial is heavy. This could mean the bridge news did not get to most commuters this morning.
I'm still taking bets that as soon as MoDOT finally finishes their bridge work, IDOT will decide to start closing lanes on the east end to resurface or something else. It never ends there.
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In the last 24 hours two ladders fell on St. Louis roadways
Mattresses 118
Ladders 91
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It's been awhile since a ladder fell onto a St. Louis highway, mattresses have been all over the place. But today on eastbound 44 near 109 a ladder fell.
Mattresses 115
Ladders 89
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As an added issue for Illinois drivers heading to or from St. Louis, the northbound ramp from route 3 to the westbound Poplar will close and stay closed til mid-November. Can they mess everyone up even more? I guess we'll see.
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