I’d like to sincerely thank the people of St. Louis for their cooperation during the recent closing of Interstate 64 from Ballas Road to Interstate 170. We appreciate all they have done to use alternate routes, adjust their work schedules, work from home, carpool and use mass transit to make the closing go as smoothly as it has. Thanks, too, to the employers for working with their staff to accommodate altered work arrangements and to the news media for keeping people informed every step of the way about this massive transportation project.

While we have been pleased with the way traffic is flowing following the closing, we’re encouraging motorists to continue to use alternate routes, adjust their travel times and take the bus or MetroLink to keep things going smoothly. In asking this, I pledge we’ll be diligent in staying on top of this project to keep congestion and traffic tie-ups to a minimum. In the end, our goal is to deliver a quality project on time and within budget that will ease congestion and make traveling in St. Louis safer.

We’re not called the Show Me State for nothing. St. Louisans have shown they can handle change and progress, and for that I’m extremely grateful.

Pete K. Rahn
Director, Missouri Department of Transportation