ST. LOUIS — Road conditions all across Missouri are continuing to improve, continuing giving first responders and snow-clearing crews room to do their jobs safely following the weekend storm that brought snow and ice to the region. Despite the improvements, several of the region's largest school districts, including Saint Louis Public Schools, Rockwood, Francis Howell and others announced late Tuesday afternoon that they would either have a third snow day Wednesday or virtual learning due to still-hazardous road conditions and ice build-up on school campuses.
CLICK HERE FOR A LIVE LOOK AT CURRENT TRAFFIC CONDITIONS
St. Louis County
The County says the cold temperatures have turned precipitation into ice, which are making the clearing process challenging and time consuming.
“We understand the inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your patience and understanding as our crews work tirelessly to improve road conditions for everyone’s safety,” a St. Louis County Facebook post states.
On Monday night, snowplows began clearing subdivisions. Crews will begin tackling secondary roads. Crews continue to work around the clock.
The Facebook post urges drivers to exercise caution and to stay tuned for further updates.
On Tuesday, Chesterfield Police Department reported the on ramp from Chesterfield Airport Road at Baxter was being closed due to road conditions causing vehicles to be stranded. Additionally, vehicles are advised not to attempt to enter Clarkson from Lea Oak as the private road has yet to be plowed by its HOA.
St. Louis City
City government stated on Monday that it was not safe to drive. They ask people to park off the street or out of the snow routes to give plows space. Also, they recommend giving yourself extra travel time and go slow.
Our own crews traveling the streets of St. Louis on Tuesday can confirm the main thoroughfares such as Market Street, Broadway, and Washington Avenue were easy to drive on. However, some of the smaller streets in the city looked untouched aside from those that drove on them.
The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT)
MODOT reports they’ve worked 12-hour shifts since last Saturday and that all highways and roads have been plowed at least once, most of which requiring multiple treatments. Many roadways remain partly covered, but pavement can be seen on most of the interstates. The bitter cold and heavy snowfall resulted in clearing taking longer than they anticipated. MODOT is now working on the outer and supplemental roads and will continue to work around the clock until all roads are mostly clear.
St. Charles City
In St. Charles City, residents can monitor the progress using the city’s snow and ice operations tracking map.
It will show conditions of the streets and where the plows are located. The department reminds people high volume streets are top priority, followed by the roads that provide access to the high volume ones with the lowest priority being residential streets.
St. Charles County
The highway department plows 1,400 lane miles and another 400 lane miles of roads of some cities. Crews work day and night in 12-hour shifts, as necessary, to clear roads. However, their maintenance division is currently 30% understaffed according to their website.
I-70
Our crews drove I-70 each day since the initial snowfall. They’ve seen improvement every day and report on Tuesday being able to drive at times near the speed limit without worry. Other drives on the road also seem to be more at ease today and cruise by above the speed limit; some of which, lost control of their vehicle and landed in a snow bank. It’s worth noting that the on ramps and off ramps are treacherous and should be approached cautiously as they’re not as clear.
I-270
The stretch of interstate from I-70 to I-64 was slow moving southbound with large snow banks covering the right most lane (not including lanes that resulted in exit only). Alike I-70, the on and off ramps were areas of concern with drivers struggling to push through thick snow.
I-64
From I-270 all the way to downtown traffic drove around five to 10 miles below the speed limit for the most part. Slush consistently splashed on windshields causing the need to frequently rinse your windshield for clearer visibility.