Nardo: Could you please discuss the landscaping plans for the new I-64? Will the emphasis be on native plants, including wildflowers, both for beauty and to reduce/eliminate the need for mowing?

Linda Wilson, Todd Waelterman and David Wrone: The landscaping plans for I-64 will include native plants, native grasses, grass species that grow very short. We are trying to find ways to reduce our mowing because MoDOT has a tremendous amount of acreage to cover and it is very difficult for us to keep pace with the growth. We also need species of trees and grasses that can endure the harsh conditions along a freeway including no additional watering and salt from winter time road clearing.

Linda Wilson

question: I have noticed that the traffic on Clayton, Ladue and Manchester is much worse now than right after the closure. (all day - not just at rush hour) It seems the lights are not synchronized as well as they used to be. Are they rechecking the synchronization regularly and making adjustments?

Linda Wilson, Todd Waelterman and David Wrone: Clayton and Ladue are County roads and the County is continuing to monitor the signals, synchronization and the conditions. These two roads are handling double the traffic volumes than before the closure. We continue to send the message that motorists should not use these roads for a detour unless they have business on these roads. The problem is a demand issue. We are hopeful that we the end of the school year, these roads will be a little lighter, at least for the summer months.

Manchester is a state road and we continue to monitor it as well. Again the signals are the same as earlier in the year, but the demand has changed. The main difference we see is the crush of traffic at rush hours. Again, we are encouraging people to take the interstates for the major detour and leave these streets for local business. I-44 continues to be down on the traffic volumes.

Linda Wilson

k: Are the new variable speed limit signs on 270 related to the I-64 project? I drive on 270 often and I don't understand them. I have only seen them at 60 or completely off. Does that mean it is like the autobahn? Seriously though, it can be confusing for motorists who don't regularly use the road. I guess it is nice that you can read the signs easier at night.

Linda Wilson, Todd Waelterman and David Wrone: The variable speed limits on I-270 are not operating yet. They only read 60 mph at this time. We are working on preparing the system to be fully operational by the end of this month. We did have a couple of times that the signs went blank as they have been working on them.

The variable speed limit signs will change in 5 mph increments between 40 and 60 mph. The limits will be changed based on conditions on the road. The idea is to pace the traffic through congestion spots or incidents.

This changed is unrelated to I-64. I-270 is our most congested highway in term of being impacted by incident related congestion. When there is an incident on I-270, traffic really gets backed up. We are working on efforts to help keep traffic flowing at a good pace on I-270.

Linda Wilson

Luna2004: Can you pls. tell me if the shoulder on Clayton and Ladue will be re-installed after being eliminated due to the Hiway 40 overflow? These were the only East-West routes for cyclists from west county to downtown, but now are too narrow and dangerous to use. Thanks, Jim, Chesterfield

Linda Wilson, Todd Waelterman and David Wrone: Unfortunately, MoDOT does not have a definite answer on Clayton and Ladue roads. These two roads were owned by a few muncipalities. St. Louis County entered into agreements with them to take over ownership of the roads, restripe them and add signals to help accommodate the expected additional traffic. These roads are carrying double the volume they were before I-64 closed. After I-64 opens, the County-City agreements state that the cities will decide what improvements from the County they want to keep. For example, if they want to keep a signalized intersection, the County will leave the signals. If they want it taken out, the County will take them out. I do not know the status of the restriping with these agreements. We do expect the traffic volumes on Clayton and Ladue roads to settle back to normal after we reopen the west section of I-64 at the end of this year.

Linda Wilson

Rick: Here are several questions/comments for you :

1. I've noticed that the new overpasses being built east of I-170 have middle supports but the ones west of I-170(i.e. McKnight) do not. I assume that this means that the overpasses west of I-170 are not as wide meaning that there will be fewer lanes underneath but, I thought that the highway was to be 4 lanes in each direction from I-270 to I-170 and only 3 lanes eas of I-170. How is that possible if the overpasses in this area are not as wide as east of I-170?

2. What is the overpass that is under construction over Brentwood for? From it's location it seems that it would be for the collector road as it seems too far south to be for I-64 (seems like the highway would have to curve to the north to go on the northside of the southbound exit from I-170 to I-64). Is this indeed for the collector road and if so why is it so wide? Also if its for the highway why wasn't it built farther to the north to avoid a curve?

3. Further to #2 - where in relation to this overpass will the exit to Brentwood be? It seems like it would be very tight to put it to the south and next to the Magna Building.

4. The concrete on the elevated section of the exit from westbound I-64 to northbound I-170 has already broken up and had to be patched with asphalt. Tell me that this is not a permanent repair and that it will be replaced with concrete and that this is not a problem with either the concrete mix or the time of year that it was poured. If so this seems to mean that within a few months of reopening that the new I-64 will be marked with many patches. What happened?

5. At the Clayton/Warson bridge it seems like there are going to be 5 sets of supports with 4 columns each but that the one in the will only have 3 columns because the last one would be in the middle of Clayton. How is the bridge going to be supported in this section. Will the support just flyout over Clayton without the support of a column or will the steel span from the second to the fourth set of supports?

6. Pictures, Pictures, Pictures. The photos that Dan is posting to the site and the webcams are great but I would like to see a flyover video showing the progress that has been made on the entire project - say from I-270 to I-170. Also some stills of several areas not able to be seen by the public would be great. One of the most amazing photos was by Dan a few days after the closure in January showing how the road had already been torn up east of Lindbergh. It would be nice to see this shot again so that we can see how the area has been raised the 20 feet you've talked about in the past. Also just taking some shots from the new overpasses showing the roadbed below and the work that is occuring would be nice.

I know this is long but with the redesign of the website last week I couldn't find you right away to ask some of these questions then.

Thanks for you efforts to keep us informed.

Linda Wilson, Todd Waelterman and David Wrone: 1. The bridges are actually the opposite of your comment. The bridges east of I-170 are not as long as those west of I-170 because there is an additional lane west of I-170. The center pier or no center pier has to do with the grade of I-64 and our ability to get the proper clearance. mcKnight for example will have I-64 lower significantly under the bridge, so we were able to get a thicker concrete bridge girder which allows us to not have a center pier.

2. The overpass by Brentwood is for the ramp from eastbound I-64 to northbound I-170. These girders will be set over this weekend.

3. The exit to Brentwood Blvd from eastbound I-64 will be just north of the exit to I-170. So if you are driving eastbound I-64, the outside lane will exit to northbound I-170, the next lane will exit to Brentwood and then the next three lanes will be I-64 continuing to the east. You can see an animation of the final I-170 interchange on the project website at www.thenewi64.org click on project overview.

4. The ramp from westbound I-64 to northbound I-170 will be closed in six months when the section of i-64 east of I-170 is closed. The patches you notice on the ramp will be fixed at that time.

5. Your Clayton question is too hard to describe in an email. The entire I-64 bridge over Clayton and Warson will be supported by the piers. Nothing is flying out.

6. MoDOT's photographers just did a fly through on the project two weeks ago. We will be posting a video on the website. There last fly through video from January is posted on the website now.

Linda Wilson