ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — Some good news for drivers Friday morning! After weeks of roadwork, the Missouri Department of Transportation is opening the new eastbound I-270 exit ramp to New Florissant Road.
Drivers had to navigate detour routes round that ramp for the past six weeks, but by Friday evening's rush hour, the ramp will finally reopen.
The old ramp was closed and removed in September to allow crews to realign Pershall Road and build the new eastbound exit ramp. With this new alignment, eastbound I-270 traffic will be able to exit onto Pershall Road, which now intersects with New Florissant Road.
This closure and construction work is all part of the $278 million I-270 north project, which is aimed at improving flow on the mainline at interchanges and on the outer roads and help reduce traffic congestion. The project started in 2020 and is set to be fully complete by December 2023.
This all comes as Missouri and Illinois transportation crews are gearing up for the cold winter months while also facing staffing shortages.
MODOT Assistant District Engineer Michelle Forneris said if a widespread winter storm lasts longer than a 12-hour shift, MODOT won't have enough employees to fill the trucks on the second shift to continue fighting the storm.
"MODOT is nearly 30% below statewide numbers," she said. "That's roughly 1,000 employees statewide that we are below the numbers needed for winter operations. What that means, with that critical staffing shortage of qualified snowplow operators, it will take us longer to get there and return roads during a winter storm to mostly clear."
Forneris said during winter storms, crews are going to start with major highways and roads directly in the path of the storm, but it could take 24 hours or more to get to smaller state routes.
The Illinois Department of Transportation is down about 8-10% of its staff compared to last year.
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