St. Louis News Blog

Interstate 64, a.k.a. Highway 40, will open December 7 -- a month before the deadline to complete the massive rebuilding of the roadway

At a press conference this morning near the intersection of Hanley Road and the highway, Missouri Department of Transportation (MODOT) director Pete Rahn said the project would also come in at $11 million under budget.

A stretch of Highway 40 in Richmond Heights as viewed in August.

​

Unreal's got nothing against Apple, but we were briefly puzzled to see, amid the computer maker/geek cult's hype for the newest iteration of its OS X operating system, Snow Leopard, the highway sign for Interstate 64:

​
What could this mean?

Here's the latest picture in my occasional photo documentary on the Highway 40 construction. Follow the jump at the bottom of this post to compare yesterday's pic with one from last week. Also, discover the real reason I take these photos!

The view Thursday, August 20, from the Boland Place overpass in Richmond Heights.

​

"This project is moving along great, and that's because of the Labor Union and all the organized trades that have all played their part."

Wait a second! That's the radio ad for the labor union! I've been brainwashed. Could it be because the radio spot runs every ten minutes during Cardinals games!?

But hey, I got to hand it to someone. The highway is moving along rapidly. What was a dirt ravine for months and months (photos here) suddenly looks like an interstate.

​In this photo from yesterday in Richmond Heights, you can see that crews have broadened the road quite a bit in the last week and added an off ramp at the Big Bend Bridge.

Wow. We forget to take a photo for one week (one stinking week!) and all of the sudden there's a highway. (Or, part of a highway at least.)

​

As you can see from the last photo we took on July 24 (viewable after the jump), a lot of progress has been made on the Highway 40 rebuild in the past few days. Crews have paved these two strips of roadway in Richmond Heights. And it looks like they've also spanned a bridge on Claytonia Avenue. The bridge in the far distance at Big Bend Boulevard looks like it, too, is nearing completion.

What's going on with the Highway 40 construction?

Glad you asked. As you can see from this photo captured late last week in Richmond Heights, construction crews are still pushing a lot of dirt around. That said, the project is actually beginning to look like a road.

​

Comparing this photo with one from earlier this month (posted after the jump) it's evident that  workers have spread out several large piles of gravel in recent weeks. They've also leveled the roadway some.

Could concrete follow? Perhaps. They've already paved the highway east of McCausland. Stay tuned for the next exciting installment of Forty Files!
 

It's been about a month since our last Forty Files update on Highway 40 construction.

So, what's happened since then? There is certainly a lot more activity along the Richmond Heights' stretch of the highway. Looks like the construction crew is finishing up the drainage system under the road.

Could paving soon follow? Stay tuned to the next installment of Forty Files to find out!

What's going on with the Highway 40 reconstruction, you ask?

Well, it's been several weeks since we updated our photo-log of the highway project, and as you can see from the picture below everything is moving along swimmingly.

In this shot from June 5, it appears they're working on installing a sound wall through Richmond Heights. The Big Bend bridge (once viewed in the distance) is no longer. It also looks like they're laying gravel in preparation for pouring the concrete road surface.

Photo: Chad Garrison

Here's that similar view (looking east from the Boland Place overpass) from April 30.

So it's been nearly two weeks since our last Highway 40 construction update, and I know you've been waiting with bated breath for the next installment. Well, here it is...

As you can see when compared to the second photo in this post (taken April 17), we now actually have what appears to be graded earth. Could concrete and asphalt be next? Stay tuned to Forty Files to find out!

So, it's been a few weeks since we updated our ongoing photo documentary on Highway 40 re-construction.

Here's the scene today in Richmond Heights as viewed from the Boland Place overpass looking east toward Big Bend Boulevard.

As you can see from the photo below, the crew has moved a few dirt piles around since last time we photographed the constriction site back on March 19. They've also moved several pickup trucks and other vehicles. 

How exciting, no? No!?

Well, someday when the construction is finished you'll say to yourself: "Golly, I remember seeing photos of the highway when it was nothing but a dirt path." Yep. You will. You'll see.

 

flickr.com/photos/wheatfields

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America recently came out with its annual ranking of worst cities for asthma.

Leading the list is St. Louis. The study, funded by drug company AstraZeneca, took into consideration factors such as a city's air quality, pollen score, poverty rate, and smoking laws.

The authors wrote of the Gateway City:

Up from number nine in 2008, St. Louis has been ranked as the "No. 1 Asthma Capital" due to a number of factors including a higher than average pollen score, continued poor air quality, a lack of "100% smoke-free" laws and others.

But breathe easy folks, we now have Bill Hannegan's incredible smoke-eating machines, so the air around here should start clearing any day now. Yeah, riiiiight!
 
View the list of the ten-worst asthma cities, after the jump.

If you're a regular Daily RFT reader you may be asking yourself the question: What's with all the Highway 40 construction photos on this here blog?

Well, let's call it a project. Each week or so we'll run a photo of the highway construction from the exact same spot (more or less) looking out toward Big Bend Boulevard.

Once the construction is finished (whenever the hell that happens) we'll run all the photos in a movie clip, and it will be the coolest thing you have ever seen.