A hope for saving lives

There's no simple or sugar-coated way to put it: people die on the roadways. Although Missouri has worked hard to reduce those numbers (and done so successfully), there is sill a simple way to save about 10 percent of the people who die on Missouri roadways -- incorporating a primary safety belt law.

This year, MoDOT is working with legislators to get a primary safety belt law passed in Missouri. Increasing safety belt use is the most effective and immediate way to save lives and reduce injuries on Missouri roads. Of more than 500 Missouri traffic laws, the current safety belt law is the only one that has a secondary enforcement provision - a driver must break another law first before they can be cited for a safety belt violation.

MoDOT estimates that we can save more than 90 lives and prevent more than 1,000 serious injuries each year by passing a primary safety belt law. To do this, we need your help. Find out how Missouri can save more lives each year here.

Traffic flow on I-270/I-255

MoDOT is currently doing a study on some of the recent changes to move traffic along I-270 and I-255 in St. Louis, primarily the Variable Speel Limit project. As part of that study, the department is looking for people to take a short survey to determine how effective these traffic changes are. Provide your opinion on traffic flow on the I-270/I-255 loop in Missouri by going here. This survey will remain open until the end of the study, in mid-2010. However, by putting information in now, and as the study continues, drivers in St. Louis can give their input on any improvement (or lack thereof) on traffic flow on St. Louis' busiest interstate.

What to know before you go

In St. Louis, MoDOT has more than 80 projects currently programmed to start in the next year. Some are fairly basic -- resurfacing jobs, putting in barriers and the like -- and will have minimal to no impact on traffic. Others are bigger -- such as the I-64 reconstruction between I-170 and Kingshighway. These projects will have major impact on traffic, requiring detours and extra time to get around the construction. To find out what is planned in your area for the next year, check out the 2009 St. Louis construction map. You can see it on-line here. It is in a pdf format and runs about 635 Kb.

Top 10 construction zones for 2009

MoDOT has announced the 10 projects in the St. Louis metropolitan region which will have the biggest impact on traffic in the region. These projects are all programmed (which means they are funded).

Of course, the biggest project is the reconstruction of I-64 between Kingshighway and I-170. Other projects include bridgework along I-44, and resurfacing on various roadways. Click here to see the entire list.