Is the I-64 Construction Project Good for St. Louis?

Should the Missouri Department of Transportation spend $535 million dollars to rebuild a 10-mile stretch of I-64 (Highway 40)? Should the highway be completely shut down for two years during construction?

Background

Highway 40 is the most congested major roadway in the St. Louis area. Missouri transportation officials (MoDOT) say traffic is steadily increasing, and will only get worse as residents continue to move out of St. Louis City to the suburbs and St. Charles County. Regardless of future growth and needs, MoDOT argues that the current roadway has long been outdated, most specifically that it doesn’t have enough lanes to handle the tremendous volume of cars that use the highway on a daily basis. To MoDOT, it’s obvious that a massive overhaul is desperately needed, and has been for some time.