Prediction: Eager Road becomes parking lot in 2008
Today, Gateway Constructors and MoDOT announced the official plans for the Highway 40/I-64 shutdown on January 2, 2008. Perhaps it was wishful thinking on my part, but I expected that Brentwood access to Highway 40 would remain intact. Alas, no. There will be no access between Highway 40 and Brentwood Blvd. In the map below, I’ve highlighted the key ramps that will be closed.
[Zoom and pan the map as needed; Click on markers for more information; Full map]
What’s the implication of this? Well, Eager Road (highlighted in red), already a nightmare during rush hour with the current construction, will only get worse. Drivers going between Brentwood and Hanley/Highway 40 will add to the already heavy traffic going to the multiple big box stores along Eager. Don’t count on returning those Christmas gifts to Best Buy or Target after January 2nd.
What about the Galleria? St. Louisans need their shopping fix, so the map above highlights a couple of alternate routes. The one in blue exits at Hanley Road, then Clayton Road to the Galleria. Although the shortest, I anticipate the Hanley exit will be extremely congested. In that case, take the scenic route, going north on I-170 (there will be two lanes to northbound I-170 from Highway 40). Then take your first exit, Forest Park Parkway. Exit at Brentwood Blvd going south to the Galleria. Then enjoy having most of the mall to yourself, since everyone else will be scared away from this area.
This entry was posted on Monday, October 29th, 2007 at 10:09 pm and is filed under I-170, Brentwood, Hanley, Alternate Routes, Predictions, Forest Park Parkway, Clayton. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
on October 30, 2007 at 11:08 am mp wrote:
I think that the Galleria and Brentwood area will loose alot of business. I know I’ll choose to go to a similar store or the same store at Crestwood or West County. (I live in SW City). OR what is going to happen is everyone will think that no one is going to the Galleria..and routes will be wide open. 40 to Clayton Road to Brentwood may not be bad. It will be interesting to see what happens.