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   The organization spearheading the effort to revamp the grounds around the Gateway Arch say the project is progressing well.  

   In it's third "report to the community," presented Tuesday night, CityArchRiver detailed MoDOT's construction time line for the planned "lid" over the I-70 depressed section. The agency says construction will begin this summer.  

   The finished "park over the highway" will connect the Arch grounds to downtown St. Louis.  Presenters also thanked the audience for passing Proposition P, a sales tax that will be used to help finance the project.  

   CityArchRiver also released new renderings for the plan to revamp the museum under the Arch.  You can see those images on their website.

JEFFERSON CITY – The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission has selected Dave Nichols to serve as the director of the Missouri Department of Transportation. Nichols has served as interim MoDOT director since March 21. He has been with the department for more than 29 years.

“Dave Nichols has the talent, skills, and experience needed to be a successful leader for MoDOT,” said Commission Chairman Joe Carmichael. “The commission has unanimously agreed that a prolonged search for a new director was unnecessary, as the right person for the job was already here.”

Nichols assumed the interim director position after the resignation of Kevin Keith, who left MoDOT on March 21 for a medical leave of absence.

Nichols has held a variety of leadership roles in the department, including his work as chief engineer and as the department’s first director of program delivery. He has also served as district engineer for the department’s Northwest District headquartered in St. Joseph and worked in MoDOT’s Kansas City District.

“The commission has full confidence in Dave’s ability to tackle the significant transportation challenges Missouri is facing,” said Carmichael. “His dedication and innovation will help Missouri maintain its status as a leader in transportation.”

Even more lanes will be closed on the Blanchette Bridge Tuesday.

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Crews close one Westbound lane and start pothole repair at 9 AM Tuesday. After they finish the Westbound work, they will close one eastbound lane for pavement repairs. All work is expected to be done by noon. The additional lane closures, will leave only two lanes open to drivers.

MoDOT is closing all lanes of I-64/Highway 40 in both directions between Hampton and the Forest Park Avenue/Grand Ave Exit (Exit 38A) starting at 8 p.m. tonight, (Friday) March 29. The lanes will reopen by 3 a.m. on Monday. 

There will be blasting tomorrow morning at 7am and 8am. Crews will be relocating several utilities underneath the roadway.

It's all part of a project to replace four bridges over the highway and to construct a new interchange at Tower Grove and Boyle.

MODOT's Drew Gates says. the detour for traffic heading west, you're going to take Forest Park Avenue till you get to Kingshighway, take Kingshighway, left on Kingshighway, and then get back on westbound 64. if you're going east from St. Louis County to downtown, your detour will be to take Hampton down to 44 and then just follow 44 all the way back up to the Poplar Street Bridge. "

ST. LOUIS – The Missouri Department of Transportation and its contractor, Fred Weber Inc., will close all lanes and ramps of Interstate 64 in both directions downtown between Hampton and Forest Park Parkway at 8 p.m. Friday, March 29. The closure is weather permitting.

While the interstate is closed, crews will relocate several utilities under the roadway as part of a project to construct a new interchange at Tower Grove and Boyle and replace four bridges over the interstate. The ramps from McCausland/Skinker, Hampton and Kingshighway to eastbound I-64 will be closed during this time. In addition, the ramps from Pine, Jefferson, Market and Grand to westbound I-64 will be closed during this time.

Crews will reopen the interstate and all ramps by 3 a.m. Monday, April 1.

The detour for westbound I-64 will be to get off the interstate at the Forest Park Avenue exit (exit 38A) and follow Forest Park Avenue to Kingshighway. After turning left onto Kingshighway, drivers will follow Kingshighway back to the interstate. The detour for eastbound I-64 will be to get off the interstate at the Hampton Avenue exit (exit 34B), turn right on Hampton and follow it to eastbound Interstate 44. Drivers can then take I-44 to the Poplar Street Bridge. Detour maps are available on-line at http://tinyurl.com/i64detour0113

Washington University in St. Louis and BJC HealthCare have partnered with the department on the project. Construction is expected to continue until July 2014.

For up to the minute traffic information in the St. Louis metro area, check the KTRS.com traffic tab.

Drivers traveling into other parts of Missouri and Illinois can get information about road conditions from both state's transportation departments.

Missouri drivers can find updated road conditions at the MoDOT website.

Illinois drivers should check the Getting Around Illinois website.

Interstates in the immediate St. Louis area were still partially snow-covered at 3:00 a.m. Monday, but continue to improve.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri Department of Transportation has issued a travel advisory for the weekend because of anticipated snowfalls of up to 3 inches per hour that could make driving nearly impossible at times.

Rain is expected to turn to snow Saturday afternoon across the state, posing a risk for travelers because of the rate of snowfall and lack of visibility. The storm is expected to continue until about noon Sunday in the western part of Missouri and taper off across the state throughout the day.

MoDOT spokesman Dan Niec says the storm will be just as challenging as two in late February that each dropped a foot of snow on the region.

He says the Transportation Department posts road conditions on its website, www.modot.org, which is updated continuously as conditions change.

The head of Missouri's Department of Transportation has unexpectedly resigned.

Kevin Keith is taking a leave of absence effective immediately and will retire July 1. Dave Nichols, MoDOT's Chief Engineer Dave Nichols will serve as the interim director for at least a year while MoDOT searches for a permanent replacement.

MoDOT is telling drivers, some temporary pain will be worth the permanent traffic relief.

The plan is to add another lane to southbound Interstate 270 between Manchester Road and Interstate 44.

Starting March 18 and continuing through April, crews will begin closing all lanes twice a day for 15 minutes at a time, while they blast to make room for the new lane.

This is similar to work that was done to add a lane on northbound 270 last summer.

District Engineer Ed Hassinger tells KTRS News, that addition has subtracted time from drivers' morning commutes, "The traffic volumes have increased and the speeds on northbound 270 have gone up anywhere from 10-15 miles an hour during the worst time, during rush hour."

The new lane on southboun 270 should be open by December.

Evening rush will be slowed in one direction on the Jefferson Barracks Bridge.

MoDOT has closed one lane of Westbound I-255 on the bridge for urgent repairs. Crews are working to repair a bridge joint. Drivers are encouraged to find alternate routes.

Work should be finished in time for the Friday morning rush.