Missouri Department of Transportation

Gateway Arch 2015: New Details in Massive Redesign, Museum, Riverfront Plans (PHOTOS)

Last night, officials with the CityArchRiver 2015 Foundation, the folks behind the massive redevelopment project around the Gateway Arch, unveiled new details of their project -- which they say they is on track for completion by October 2015. The $380 million public-private partnership involves ma ... More >>

The Four Worst Traffic Jams of 2013 in St. Louis

MoDOT, bless its cold, gravelly little heart, announced yesterday the worst traffic jams of 2013, uh, wait, make that its largest construction projects for the upcoming year. Huzzah! It's so rare when you know in advance what you'll be bitching and moaning about. You'd think that surviving the two- ... More >>

MoDOT Approves "9/11-Truther" Group's Adopt-A-Highway Application

"9/11-Truthers" believe a lot of things that make most of us deeply uncomfortable. But at least we'll get a cleaner highway out of their latest publicity stunt. The Missouri Department of Transportation has reluctantly approved a local 9/11 Truth group's application to adopt a stretch of Olive Bou ... More >>

[VIDEOS] Blanchette Bridge Explosion-fest!

The westbound Blanchette Bridge was definitively blown up yesterday. This allowed the $63 million renovation project go forward (and allowed taxpayers to pretend they were at Universal Studios).For the time being, the eastbound span alone will perform double-duty and allow I-70 motorists to keep cro ... More >>

Headed to the East Side for Halloween Revelry? Don't Take I-64. It'll Be Closed.

For those of you Halloweenies who enjoy when people take off their costumes more than when they put them on, know this: You can't get to the East Side tonight via I-64 (a.k.a. "Highway 40.") It'll be closed between Jefferson Avenue and the Poplar Street Bridge from 8 pm Wednesday until 5:30 am Thurs ... More >>

Patrons of East-Side Booby-Bars: Don't Try to Take I-64 Home This Weekend

Happy Friday!  Before you get pants-pooping drunk and wind up on "The IL Side" for some adult entertainment, know two key facts: 1) You can never unsee what you saw in the bathroom last time; and2) This time, you cannot come back home across the Poplar Street Bridge on I-64 for the entire weeke ... More >>

Grand Viaduct Slated Re-Open to Traffic at 3 p.m. Today

The much-anticipated return of the Grand Avenue Viaduct that's been closed for what feels like seven years is nigh. Grand Center businesses received a letter from the city outlining a 3 p.m. re-opening of the road to traffic both north and southbound, with at least one lane open in both directions a ... More >>

Today You Can Weigh in on Arch Grounds Renovation -- Sort Of

The Missouri Department of Transportation is holding an "open-house style" public meeting today, from 3 to 5 pm at City Hall. The topic: How should we reconnect downtown with our river and national monument when I-70 slices right between them?MoDOT is going to "discuss several proposed alternatives" ... More >>

Andy Gammon Identified as Fallen Bridge Worker; Still Missing in the River

​Authorities identified the worker who fell from the new Mississippi River Bridge as Andy Gammon, 35, a carpenter from Park Hills. Gammon was on an aerial man lift that was on a barge upriver from the bridge construction site when he went into the water around 10:30 a.m. yesterday morning. Rescuer ... More >>

Five Questions for MoDOT's "Barrel Bob"

Photo by Nicholas PhillipsBarrel Bob is more fun than...a barrel of...bobs?​Barrel Bob, an 11-foot-tall MoDOT spokesthing, has been grinning from the shoulder of I-70 just north of downtown for several weeks.  We caught up with him Saturday. Daily RFT: Your job is to tell people to slow down, ... More >>

MoDOT's Facebook Friends Not So Friendly Following Snow

​You've heard the news. Chances are you even experienced it firsthand. Yesterday's one-inch snowstorm caught the Missouri Department of Transportation completely unprepared. The agency failed to pre-treat interstates with salt brine despite weather reports that the region would pick up snow. Inste ... More >>

Red Light, Yellow Light: Red-light citations plummet in Arnold

Red-Light Camera Citations Drop in Arnold as MoDOT Changes Yellow Light Times

​Motorists driving along roadways maintained by the Missouri Department of Transportation could receive fewer red-light camera tickets if preliminary reports from Arnold ring true statewide. Beginning in February, MoDOT began changing the yellow-light signal times throughout Arnold, where all the ... More >>

MoDOT Proposes Cutting 1,200 Jobs; Would Save a Half-Billion Dollars If Approved

Kevin Keith wants to cut MoDOT's staff by 19 percent.​This week the director of the Missouri Department of Transportation, Kevin Keith, announced his intention to reduce the size of the agency by 1,200 jobs. Keith also proposes cutting 135 MoDOT facilities and selling some 740 pieces of equipment ... More >>

Feel Free to Ignore Digital Speed Signs on I-270 Beginning in July

Sammy Hagar approved.​The variable speed signs along Interstate 270 haven't been as productive in easing congestion as hoped in their nearly two years in operation. Now, beginning in July, the signs will play only an "advisory role" in directing traffic. Motorists who choose to ignore the signs -- ... More >>

Missouri Highway Commission Clears Way for Red-Light, Speed Cameras on State Roadways

​The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission today adopted a policy to regulate the growing use of red-light cameras in the state and ensure the technology is used fairly and consistently. In October the Missouri Department of Transportation suspended the installation of any new cameras ... More >>

Highway 40 Reconstruction Named Nation's Best Transportation Project

Highway 40: That's a winner!​Those of you inconvenienced for two years by the closure of Highway 40 (I-64) aren't going to happy with this news. Yesterday the reconstruction of the St. Louis highway was named the nation's best transportation project by the American Association of State Highway and ... More >>

"Diverging Diamond" Interchange at Dorsett and 270 Has Motorist Driving in "Wrong" Lane

The Double Diamond let's you drive British -- if only for a couple hundred feet.​This weekend MoDOT officially opened its fancy, schmancy new interchange at Interstate 270 and Dorsett Road. The intersection is called a "Diverging Diamond" -- a name presumably stolen from a 007 book that never was. ... More >>

Missouri Transportation Director Says Enough Red-Light Cameras for Now

​Missouri's top transportation official Kevin Keith says his agency won't approve any more red-light cameras until further study. Keith, the interim director of the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) tells the Post-Dispatch this morning that many municipalities seem to be using the came ... More >>

St. Charles Bill Would Require Rearview Mirrors for Bikes

This little girl faces little threat of being cuffed-and-stuffed in St. Chuck for not having a mirror on her bike.​The St. Charles County Council last night concluded one ongoing debate with bicyclists while leaving another potential showdown in limbo.As reported several times on Daily RFT, counci ... More >>

Missouri Completes Nation's First Economic Recovery Act Project

The old Tuscumbia Bridge soon to go bye-bye.​Correction to this article appears at end of post. The Missouri Department of Transportation first made history books back in February 2009 when it began the nation's first Economic Recovery Act project within a few minutes of the measure becoming law. ... More >>

Don't Be Afraid of Roundabouts, Stupid People, MoDOT Is Gonna Explain Them

I'm cold and frightened and WHAT'S A ROUNDABOUT!?!?​Funny thing about the olds: they seem, in our experience, to be terrified of roundabouts, which is sad because roundabouts are superior to traffic signal intersections in pretty much every way: Fewer collisions because all you gotta do is mergeCh ... More >>

Dear Extra Lane on Interstate 44: We'll Miss You!

modot.orgI-44 in 2007: An extra lane is born.​You were a fifth lane, but never a fifth wheel. No far from it. We enjoyed having you around. Sure, it was scary (and exhilarating!) that first time we drove you back in 2007 -- the year they squeezed you onto the blacktop to compensate for the entire ... More >>

MoDOT Turns Old Roofing Shingles Into New Roadways

Yeah, shingles like these.​Here's an interesting little nugget to file in the Department of "Bet Ya Didn't Know That." Did you know that the Missouri Department of Transportation is recycling roof shingles for roads? It's true. Last year MoDOT used 53,000 tons of recycled asphalt shingles (enough ... More >>

Pete Rahn to Leave MoDOT for Company Tied to State Contracts

modot.comRahn drew attention to highway work zones in 2006 when he set up his office alongside a Missouri freeway. ​Updated 4:25 p.m. MoDOT informs Daily RFT that it has entered into 52 contracts with HNTB since Rahn's arrival with a total cost for those contracts at more than $75 million.  O ... More >>

Update: Poplar Street Bridge is Falling Down, Falling Down...

Updated 2:22 p.m. MoDOT spokeswoman Linda Wilson issued a statement this afternoon reporting that the Poplar Street Bridge is structurally sound. See her comments at the end of this post. -----------Missouri Department of Transportation crews will examine the Poplar Street bridge today after a large ... More >>

Factoid: Road Crews in Missouri Spray Sugar Beet Juice on Roads to Melt Ice and Snow

biologie.uni-hamburg.de​Who knew? To keep our roads and highways from gettin' too icy, state crews use a salty solution containing sugar beet juice, according to MoDOT.  No, like lots of it. Like at least 78,000 gallons so far this winter. The beet juice is a by-product of sugar production. I ... More >>

Highway 40 to Open December 7

Interstate 64, a.k.a. Highway 40, will open December 7 -- a month before the deadline to complete the massive rebuilding of the roadwayAt a press conference this morning near the intersection of Hanley Road and the highway, Missouri Department of Transportation (MODOT) director Pete Rahn said the pr ... More >>

Hear the One About the Missouri Department of Transportation and the Nazis?

The New York Times had an interesting story this weekend about the Missouri Department of Transportation (MODOT) and its ongoing battle with racist groups that want to adopt highways. Last year the National Socialist Movement (the neo-Nazi group that rallied in St. Louis this past April) signed on t ... More >>

Reminder: Don't Drive and Drown this Month

Wikimedia CommonsApparently people do very stupid things in March, which is why the month is home to about a dozen different prevention weeks. My favorite thus far is the following pearl I received yesterday from the State Emergency Management Agency. The department has dubbed March 16-20 as "Turn A ... More >>

Sign of the Times: The inescapable presence of a towering message board on Highway 40 has some Frontenac residents seeing red

Readers are still buzzing about those traffic-light cameras

Line of Argument

This Week's Issue

City of Bad Shoulders

Advocates for the disabled flag down Missouri’s highway builders and demand they pay greater attention to accessibility.

Mo' about MoDOT

It's highway robbery!

Road Warrior

The ride’s been bumpy, but Pete Rahn has made quite an impression since taking over at the reins at the Missouri Department of Transportation.

Test-Drive Your Highway 40 Detour

Tom Sullivan Takes on the Post

The Road Goes On Forever

How long does it take to drive from here to Kansas City? Depends on how much you want to see.

After the Raid

Week of July 2, 2003

Slick Dick

Dick Morris pipes up, the Bishops come to town and I-70 gets no respect

White-Trash Junction

Amtrak's station was supposed to be temporary -- a quarter-century ago

Nowhere Road

What Slay was willing to give up for the stadium deal that died

The Medium Is the Mess

Prop A has billboard companies on the defensive and scrambling to put up more signs

Hot Rods

Spent nuclear fuel could be barreling down accident-plagued, construction-delayed Interstate 70

IN DEFENSE OF WHITE-TRASH CLEANUP

KKK is runt of the litter, but the state must not censor its garbage

YO, GRAND DRAGON, YOU MISSED THAT CANDY WRAPPER

MoDOT gives the Ku Klux Klan the cold shoulder, but the appeal goes on

GREEN ACRES

How the Page Avenue extension has been good for influential road-builder Fred Weber Inc. -- through construction contracts, profitable land sales and a sweet deal with St. Louis County to expand its golf course

Memory Lane

Defying danger and the forgetfulness of time, grieving families and friends are peppering Missouri's roadsides with shrines to loved ones killed in crashes