ST. LOUIS - Traffic is flowing very well around the St. Louis region for the third month after the closure of five miles of Interstate 64 from Interstate 270 to Interstate 170 on January 2.  MoDOT and local officials are pleased with the success to date and the consistency of daily traffic.  The success can be attributed to advanced planning, communication, cooperation and the actions of all St. Louisans.

Weather continued to play a contributing factor in traffic flow around the region with extremely heavy snowfall early in March and a record total rainfall for the month.  Motorist patterns continue to shift back to pre-closure two-hour morning and evening rush periods. 

"The more motorists can avoid the peak hours, the easier and faster they can reach their destinations," said Lesley Hoffarth, MoDOT's I-64 project director.

Here are the major observations from the month of March:

· Morning and evening rush periods have reduced back to two hours instead of spreading out over three hours like in January.

· The peak time during the rush continues to be 7-8 a.m. and 5-6 p.m., just like before the closure.  Avoiding these peak morning and evening hours will improve travel times.

· Weather played a significant factor in traffic during March with a major snowstorm March 4 and record rainfall amounts for the month.

· The I-70 reversible lanes continue to be monitored to determine the correct directional flow for the lanes.  Reversible volumes in total were less in March than in January or February.  The directional change is still correct based on the volumes.  The reversibles run westbound in the a.m. and have 1,400 more vehicles than eastbound.  The reversibles run eastbound in the p.m. rush and have 1,900 more vehicles than westbound.  Travel times continue to run very good with 11-15 minutes from I-170 to downtown during morning rush and 11-17 minutes during evening rush.

· Metro responded quickly to rising water levels on March 20 for the many transit customers who parked at the commuter lot at Route 141 and I-44.  Metro used supervisors to drive customers back to their cars before the floodwaters reached the lot.  Temporary parking was made available at the Stratford Inn at 800 South Highway Drive.

· St. Louis County reports travel times on Brentwood Blvd from Manchester to Galleria Parkway are stable despite the increase in people using this to access northbound I-170.

Tips for Optimal Travel: 

· Drivers should continue to shift their commute time where possible. 

o By shifting your commute time by 1 hour either way, drivers can many times cut their commute times in half. 

· Incidents and crashes have been and will continue to be the source of unexpected congestion problems.  There were more than 1,233 incidents during the month that impacted traffic.  Motorists need to slow down and drive attentively to avoid causing these crashes, which impede the flow of traffic.  Move off the road if you are in a non-injury crash.

MoDOT and its transportation partners will continue to monitor the roads on a daily basis and provide updates on the web twice a month including a monthly summary.  For more information on the I-64 project and to stay updated on the construction schedule, visit http://www.thenewi64.org/.  on the I-64 project and to stay updated on the construction schedule, visit http://www.thenewi64.org/.