Highway in the U.S. state of Missouri
This article is about the section of Interstate 64 in Missouri. For the entire route, see
Interstate 64
.
Interstate 64
(
I-64
) passes through the
Greater St. Louis
area in the US state of
Missouri
. The entire route is
concurrent
with
U.S. Route 40
(US 40). Because the road was a main thoroughfare in the St. Louis area before the development of the
Interstate Highway System
, it is not uncommon for locals to refer to the stretch of highway as "Highway 40" rather than "I-64". On December 6, 2009, the portion of the highway running through the city of St. Louis was named the
Jack Buck Memorial Highway
in honor of the
late sportscaster
.
[2]
Route description
[
edit
]
I-64 begins at an interchange with
I-70
,
US 40
, and
US 61
in
St. Charles County
and heads south. Previously, the freeway was a divided highway signed only as US 40 with at-grade intersections, which were slowly converted to limited-access exits. The final intersection at Callahan Road was removed on October 14, 2009.
[3]
The next major exit is for
Route N
and the western terminus of
Route 364
. Route 364 was completed and opened on November 2, 2014.
[4]
From here, I-64 continues past interchanges with
Route DD
/Winghaven Boulevard,
Route 94
, and Research Park Circle and then crosses the
Missouri River
via the
Daniel Boone Bridge
and enters
St. Louis County
.
The freeway travels through the congested Chesterfield Valley, where it gains a fourth lane and then meets
I-270
at a flyover interchange built in the early 1990s in the city of
Town and Country
. Continuing east, I-64 remains four lanes and travels through the affluent areas of
Frontenac
and
Ladue
. The next major interchange is
I-170
in the city of
Richmond Heights
. This stretch, located between Ballas Road and I-170, was closed in 2008 for a complete reconstruction, at which point substandard exits were upgraded and the fourth lane was added. The interchange with I-170 was also overhauled, creating a full interchange with highspeed ramps in all directions. The reconstructed expressway opened to traffic on the morning of December 15, 2008.
East of the interchange with I-170, I-64 drops a lane and stays at three throughlanes to Clayton Road. Through here, the expressway passes through older neighborhoods and enters into the city of
St. Louis
. After readding a fourth lane, the freeway skirts the southern edge of
Forest Park
. In this area, one finds both the
Saint Louis Science Center
and
Saint Louis Zoo
. Kingshighway marks the end of the completely reconstructed eastern half, where again outdated exits were updated and shoulders widened. The eastern half was closed from December 15, 2008, to December 7, 2009.
[5]
I-64's speed limit drops from 60 to 55 mph (97 to 89 km/h) east of Kingshighway and drops a lane at Vandeventer Avenue (the opposite of the westbound lanes). Passing by
Saint Louis University
, the freeway becomes double-decked for the first time (eastbound lanes at a lower level; westbound lanes at an upper one), gaining back a fourth lane east of Compton Avenue. Another lane drop occurs at the Chestnut and 20th Street exit, where the canceled
Route 755
was to interchange. The freeway passes just south of the
Enterprise Center
and again becomes double-decked in the same arrangement, passing within 50 feet (15 m) of the
New Busch Stadium
. The route becomes two lanes as it approaches the
Mississippi River
and the
Poplar Street Bridge
, where it is intersects
I-55
and
I-44
at an incomplete interchange; it was also at this interchange that
I-70
joined I-55 and I-64 to cross the Poplar Street Bridge, but its former downtown route is now an extension of I-44. Eastbound I-64 cannot directly access either one of the other routes, but westbound I-64, however, can directly access both. I-64 continues into
Illinois
concurrent with I-55; until 2014, it also ran concurrent with I-70, which has since been rerouted onto the
Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge
further upstream.
History
[
edit
]
Initial construction
[
edit
]
Before the Interstate Highway System, US 40 was a main thoroughfare through St. Louis and Kansas City. From each state line, there were signs saying "Future I-55/I-64 Corridor" and "Future I-70 Corridor".
Reconstruction
[
edit
]
The
Missouri Department of Transportation
(MoDOT) rebuilt the stretch of I-64 from Spoede Road to Kingshighway Boulevard between 2008 and 2009. The project included new concrete pavement on the highway; approximately 25 rebuilt bridges; and several reconfigured interchanges, including a new freeway-to-freeway interchange at I-170.
The section between Spoede Road and I-170 was closed for reconstruction on January 2, 2008, and opened to traffic on December 15, 2008. The section between I-170 and Kingshighway Boulevard was closed on December 15, 2008, and reopened to traffic on December 7, 2009.
[6]
The project was completed with a dedication and opening day ceremony on Sunday, December 6.
[2]
In 2020, exits 39 and 38B were closed and demolished to make way for the
CityPark
, a new soccer-specific stadium for
St. Louis City SC
on the site.
[7]
The ramps were the remnants of a 3.3-mile-long (5.3 km)
north?south distributor highway
that was never built.
[8]
Exit list
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Missouri Department of Transportation
(October 16, 2018).
MoDOT HPMAPS
(Map). Missouri Department of Transportation
. Retrieved
October 16,
2018
.
- ^
a
b
"Public Invited to I-64 'Fun on the Freeway'
"
(Press release). Missouri Department of Transportation. November 30, 2009
. Retrieved
December 9,
2009
.
- ^
"MoDOT to celebrate completion of Route 40/61 work"
(Press release). Missouri Department of Transportation. October 7, 2009
. Retrieved
October 23,
2009
.
- ^
"Route 364 upgrade - Phase 3"
. Missouri Department of Transportation
. Retrieved
May 2,
2012
.
- ^
"The New I-64"
. Missouri Department of Transportation
. Retrieved
May 2,
2012
.
- ^
Leiser, Ken.
"Highway 40 to reopen Dec. 7"
.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
. Archived from
the original
on December 12, 2009
. Retrieved
December 21,
2011
.
- ^
Staff reports.
"Five Highway 40 (I-64) ramps to close permanently on Feb. 3 for new soccer stadium"
.
STLtoday.com
. Retrieved
March 6,
2020
.
- ^
O'Malley, Beth.
"Those soon-to-close Highway 40 ramps are remnants of a never-built north-south highway"
.
STLtoday.com
. Retrieved
March 6,
2020
.
- ^
"This week on Highway 40"
.
St. Louis Post Dispatch
. August 20, 2007. pp. C3
. Retrieved
April 22,
2021
.
External links
[
edit
]
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