MoDOT Weighs Three Options to Rework Bridges and Interchanges Along Stretch of I-64 in St. Louis

The Missouri Department of Transportation has laid out three possible improvement plans for a three-mile section of Interstate 64 in St. Louis, with the goals of making the corridor safer for people on foot, on bikes and on public transit, and less bewildering for motorists.

The effort, known as Future64, centers on the bridges and interchanges along the route. According to MoDOT's St. Louis-area engineer Jen Wade, the agency has $100 million in bridge maintenance work to finish over the next few years. Because of that, she said, the choices made now will have long-lasting consequences. "Whatever we do on bridges stays there for the next 50 to 70 years," Wade said. "We want to make sure what we put there lasts that long and that we like it."

Last year, the department conducted a full safety analysis concentrating on pedestrians, bicyclists and transit users. The study area covered east-west travel between Kingshighway and Jefferson Street, and north-south travel between Forest Park and Chouteau avenues.

Wade said traffic safety has become a pressing issue in the city. In 2021, 178 people died and 14,000 were injured in traffic crashes across St. Louis and St. Louis County. Speeding, she noted, is a frequent complaint and a major concern along the corridor.

The first of the three options would leave the road layout unchanged. It offers the least access to MetroLink stations but would add a new north-south link on Theresa Avenue to I-64. The second would establish bus-only lanes on Grand Boulevard between Chouteau and Forest Park avenues, though it carries a high price tag for upgrades to the local transportation system. The third involves the most sweeping changes and the greatest cost, but would serve the largest number of users.

Wade said the work would also help simplify confusing intersections and interchanges. She singled out the eastbound exits for Grand Boulevard and Market Street, which she said are especially unclear to drivers unfamiliar with the city. "Why do we get off at the Market Street exit before the Grand [Boulevard] exit when we're coming eastbound? That's weird," she said. "This is not standard interchange design."

The project is currently in its planning phase. MoDOT plans to accept public comment throughout the year while carrying out an environmental survey to establish the project's needs and goals.

Wade described some of the questions guiding that work: "Do we have bicycle and pedestrian pinch points? Is the highway creating a barrier for people to cross over the highway? These are the kinds of questions we ask."