SUMMER TIME

SUMMER TIME

Thursday, December 18, 2008

THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED OR THE HIGHWAY WITHOUT TRAFFIC

Most of my adoring fans, faithful followers and loyal readers of this blog probably knew about the re-construction project that shut down eastbound and most of westbound on Interstate 64 or Highway 40 for over a year. (The news was on the front page of USA Today.) St. Louisians adjusted very well as companies instituted flexible work schedules and telecommuting for others. A number of businesses even relocated their offices. Interstate 44 saw an increase in additional vehicles but traffic flowed steadily, not much worse than the normal bottlenecks at interchanges. Well, enough on my traffic report. Here are the photos I took at the re-opening celebration on Sunday, December 14th.
A number of activities took place before the western half of Highway 40 (Interstate 64) open to vehicles on Monday, December 15th. Pedestrians and bicyclists were treated to a once in a lifetime opportunity to walk and bike on the open highway. I thought it was such a neat experience to stand in the middle of the soon-to-be four lanes interstate with concrete still had the fresh clean look, without even a tires mark!
The St. Louis Track Club hosted a five-kilometer run and a bike ride was organized by the St. Louis Bike Federation. I thought my brother, the Qaptain and my nephew JL that they would enjoy this event as much as I did.

Life saving wake-up call before a motorist completely ran off the road, hopefully preventing the vehicle from smashing into the rail guards.
The next time I see this sign will be thru my windshield or window and not standing still with my camera.
A view from the highway towards South Lindbergh Boulevard.
Even Santa got off his sleigh to chat with someone or to tell him that he is not getting any presents this year. The Frontenac/Town and Country Chamber of Commerce sponsored a horse-drawn carriage rides. We did not know until later that the Frontenac Hilton Hotel served refreshments in their lobby. That would have saved me $4.50 for a cup of hot chocolate and a sugar cookie that I had to have!

1 comment:

Qaptain Qwerty said...

That is indeed nice to be on the highway once in a while without having to watch out for cars. I had my share of fun when I jogged across the Verazano Bridge for the 1994 and 1995 NYC Marathon. Well, that was, as Billy Joel sang in Piano Man, "when I wore a younger man's clothes."

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