ST. LOUIS - Traffic flow on the region's roads continues to flow very well in both morning and evening rush hour due to the efforts of everyone in St. Louis. 

"We want to thank commuters in St. Louis for responding so positively to the changes from the I-64 closure," said MoDOT Assistant District Engineer Tom Blair.  "The travel times have been great because people are making great choices.  They are flexing their hours, using Metro and carpooling and using the interstates as much as possible.  If we can all keep doing these things, rush periods will continue to go well."

The heaviest times on the interstates and the major roads continue to be 6:30-7:30 a.m. in the morning rush and 5-6 p.m. in the evening rush.

Rush Period: 

• Evening for January 9
• Time = 3:30 p.m. - 6 p.m.
• Volumes peaked from 4:30 -5:30 p.m. on interstates and 4:30-6 p.m. on arterial roads
• Morning for January 10
• Time = 5:30 a.m.-9 a.m.
• Volumes peaked from 6:30 - 8:30 a.m.

General Observation:

• Clayton and Ladue Roads are seeing increased volumes that remain up from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• Volumes are up 75-90% over volumes before I-64 was closed
• Motorists are advised to use Olive or Manchester as alternatives.
• Forest Park Parkway is also having a 25% increase in volumes throughout the day
  

Summary of evening rush January 9 peak times (avoiding these peak times will shorten travel times):

• Page
• 5-5:30 p.m. peak with heaviest area from I-170 to Warson
• Olive
• 5-5:30 p.m. peak with heaviest area from Lindbergh to I-270
  
• Manchester
• Hanley to Route 141, 5:30-6 p.m. peak with various spots of heavier flow
• Lindbergh
• 4:30-5:30 p.m. peak, southbound direction is heavier than northbound

Summary of morning rush January 10 peak times (avoiding these peak times will shorten travel times):

• Route 141 at I-44
• 7-7:30 a.m. peak with heaviest area from Gravois to I-44, volumes are up slightly from 6:30-7 a.m.
• Page
• 7-7:30 a.m. peak with heaviest area on southbound I-170 exiting at Page
• Olive
• 7-7:30 a.m. peak, problem spots are the exits from I-270.
• Manchester
• Route 141 to Hanley, 7-7:30 a.m. peak. 
• Lindbergh
• 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. peak for north and southbound, problem spot on southbound Lindbergh turning left to eastbound Clayton

Incident Report:

·        No major incidents to report for January 9 p.m. rush.

·        A few incidents occurred January 10 a.m. rush:

o       Eastbound I-44 at Hampton, three lanes closed, clear in approximately 30 minutes

o       Southbound I-270 at Olive, left lane closed, clear in 10 minutes

Metro information:

• I-44 commuter lots at Route 141 and Route 109 are full
• Motorists who are carpooling are encouraged to use the I-44 and Antire Road lot, which is not serviced by MetroBus.  This will free up parking spaces at the 141 and 109 lots for those who are catching the bus.
• Users of Call A Ride are encouraged to request service trips during off peak times, if possible, which will improve their travel times.

or more information on the I-64 project, visit http://www.thenewi64.org/, and for real-time traffic information, visit http://www.gatewayguide.com/.