By Bill Raack, St. Louis Public Radio
St. Louis, MO – Transportation officials say the re-opened section of Interstate-64 was busy Monday morning.
It was the first day of traffic for the five mile stretch between I-170 and Kingshighway after a year of being closed.
MoDot district engineer Ed Hassinger says there were a few slow spots, but overall the rebuilt road and interchanges handled the return of vehicles well.
"We did notice that most of the traffic that had been on the other major interstates and arterial routes has come back to I-64 all in one day and we weren't sure if that was going to happen but it basically has. So we're seeing volumes that are very similar to what happened before we closed it in 2007 back on the east side of the highway," Hassinger said.
Hassinger said traffic levels on I-64 returned to pre-closure levels quicky Monday morning. Traffic on other area highways - Interstates 44, 70, 55 and 270 - was down during rush hour. Hassinger said the main trouble spot on the eastern half of the I-64 rebuild appears to be the I-170 interchange.
Several businesses are celebrating the reopening of the highway by offering specials this week. They include the Galleria mall, which has gift cards available and Tony's restaurant downtown, which has dinner specials for $64.40 and for $40.