The concrete monuments of the old Daniel Boone Expressway

Thanks to VanishingSTL for the post lamenting the latest assault on our modern history.

The "New I-64" project has been underway since the start of the year, closing St. Louis's most used east-west highway and effecting a media phantasmagoria filled with horrific visions of how commuting suburbanites would have to leave their houses three hours earlier to get to their destinations. I've been a critic of the project from day one, of course.

There have been a couple suggestions thrown out by local politicians, bloggers, and civic boosters. One is to reopen I-64 (known as its U.S. Route number, 40, to locals) with a leg of the region's light rail system running right down the middle. To many urbanists, a commuter line right down the highway spells trouble. After all, it is not the most comfortable experience to be dropped off in the middle of traffic whirring by at 70 miles per hour. Nor would such a line be very pedestrian friendly, as the farther you travel from the city, the less likely you are to even witness that strange alien conveyer belt that us urban types call a sidewalk. Still, for those concerned more with carbon emissions than pedestrian-friendly transit, this could be a solution to the throng of autos that makes its way downtown every morning and leaves every evening.

Another floated proposal, by famous local urbanist blogger Steve Patterson, is to close the highway entirely and turn it into a large urban boulevard replete with stop lights and a lower speed limit. Of course, it would also feature sidewalks, on street parking, and hopefully buildings to anchor the roadway on each side. This wouldn't be ideal either, but is a better solution than doing away with the highway altogether.

Anyhow, I have digressed entirely. The New I-64 is chugging along with relatively little controversy (so far). The plan? To dismantle a segment of the roadway between Spoede and Sarah Streets (about 17 miles of the highway if I were to guess), demolishing every dated bridge and adding a couple lanes.



VanishingSTL's blog contains some lovely pictures of the streamlined modern bridges that will be replaced by a neotraditional piece of "functional" architecture. Art Deco and Art Moderne influences abound, as much of the former "Daniel Boone Expressway" was built up in the 1940s or earlier. Take a look at the old and what will soon be the new here.