Elliott_Davis's Blog

It's one of the most bizarre things I've ever seen you pay for.

We did a report on a West County Modot soundwall built right in front of a Frontenac family's home. I mean you walk out your front door only to see this huge monstrosity.

I think this is one of those deal swhere a little common sense should have come into play. And the agency higher ups shoudl have asked themselves, would I want this in front of my house. The answer would have been a resounding no.

When I questioned Modot the agency said it's the best way to curb highway noise.

There's also such a thing as quality of life. And this definitely affects that.

Modot says since all the walls are interconnected to reduce sound there maybe nothing they can do and the homeowner may be stuck with this deal that certainly doesn't help the value of your home when it comes time to sell.

I certainly believe the Modot experts should go back to the drawing board and figure out something to mitigate the negative effects of this wall.

Modot's done many good things on the highway 40 project.. But someone didn't have on their thinking cap when built this wall.

 You Paid For irt discovered a real problem for motorist  on a brand new over-pass that's part of the new Highway 40 project.

 the new Bellevue Overpass was rebuilt and re-openned in February but when you get to the top of the east bound exit ramp to turn northbound onto Bellevue..there's a blind spot and you can't see the traffic coming across the overpass.

It's a real nail biter for motorist straining to see around the crash wall wall of the overpass..They have to nose out into the lane to see, and risk getting slammed by an on-coming car.

 Modot told me it discovered the problem after their contractor built the overpass.

 They told me they fixed the problem. But when I went back out after the so-called fix..I saw drivers having the same problem as before.

 But the solution my not be easy...Since the Crash Wall is obstructing the view of drivers why not remove the wall from the over-pass.

Easier said than done. Modot won't do that saying the wall is to prevent people from careening over the side of the over-pass..

 SO it seems like drivers may be stuck with a bad situation unless Modot can figure out something else. The agency says it's done trying for now. .

 Have any of you spotted and similar flaws on the 40 project..if so blog and let me know..

Remember. You Paid For It.

Elliott Davis

I went to METROto find answers for a disabled man trying to get on Call A Ride with his wheel chair. I got more than I bargained for in an interview with METRO Executive Director Larry Salci. He's been reluctant to talk to me since our first interview where we caught him off camera calling me a clown..

Wait until you see what happenned this time..Unbelievable!!

It always amazes me how willing folks are to talk about good news. But when you challenge officials for answers for taxpayers they get hot under the collar.

Salci Really got mad in this interview..that you'll see in November.

Stay Tuned

Elliott Davis

 I think one of the most questionable deals are soundwalls.

 I was driving down highway 55 today near Arnold and passed rows of soundwalls that look as though they were in front of woods.  I'm going to do some investigation of this deal.

I've done stories where communities don't even want the soundwalls and MODOT has gone to court to force them to take them anyway.

It just seems like there are better uses for highway tax dollars than Soundwalls.

But maybe it's just me.

Elliott Davis

This may have been a case of one hand not knowing what the other is doing.

We recently did a story on the Modot traffic cameras. At several spots the poles are in the middle of the sidewalks making it tough for folks and wheelchairs, strollers and even bicyclists to get by.

Modot hired a contractor for the $3 million dollar job on Manchester and Chouteau.

One of the problems, the contractor just follows thespecs provided by Modot. I think however that at some point common sense needs to kick in when It comes to putting poles in the middle of the sidewalk. It's almost always tough to defend. But Modot certainly took a stab at it in my report.

It remains to be seen if Paraquad, an advocacy group for poeple with disabilities, plans to push this with the Justice Department and force Modot to move the poles which would be expensive

But what the Paraquad Spokesman told me in an interview made the most sense.

Do it right the first time. It's a lot cheaper.

Amen.

Elliott Davis

I've had a lot of calls about the highway markers on the interstate highway..some folks said modot spaced them too close together.

I called modot to sort this out.

The agency told me they put down all the markers for safety reasons. The object is to give stranded motorists, or those who see someone stranded, or people involved in an accident a more exact location in case they have to call emergency vehicles or a motorist assist unit.

Often it's hard to tell where you are on a highway devoid of signs..
I found the value of highway locators through a personal experience.

My daughter and I were heading out of town on a long trip..
But my older vehicle didn't make it out of Missouri and broke down on highway 55 about 50 miles south of Arnold.
I had to call a tow truck..but because there were no signs i didn't have a clue as to my exact location..

Fortunately a passing driver stopped to give assistance and told me my rough location which I relayed to AAA.

So the markers may seem like a waste of money and manpower, until you break down on the road and need to know where you are. I could have used a marker..

Just my opinion.

My worst highway experience during the road construction was one night when I tried to get onto northbound 270 from westbound 40..only to find the 270 on ramps shut down by the construction.

The sign said detour at Mason Road..I started driving down mason and got lost.
Try driving around West County at night not knowing where you're going.
I ended up in town and country and didn't see many street signs. I basically looked for distant red traffic lights knowing that would be a major intersection with a recognizable street.

After 20 minutes of driving around I finally found a familiar road..and made my way to northbound 270. I drove a few miles only to discover that traffic on 270 had ground to a halt because of construction there. That was another 20 minute delay. On top of all this i was running out of gas.

Needless to say I was not a happy camper..

Still like everyone else I just put up with all the construction and keep telling myself that's progress...but it sure seems like modot could have figured out a better way to do this.

Love to hear about your highway headaches.
Especially since..you paid for it.

I was driving home the other night, and had to travel several highways. Is anyone else frustrated by all the construction slow-downs? I know its progress, but it sure seems like we're paying for it.

It was strange for me getting my vehicle emissions tested the other day. As many of you know our You Paid For It reports helped push the legislature and governor to change the program as of September 07 the testing stations will be out of business. So you can imagine the reaction of people at an emissions station when I showed up to get my car tested. I confessed I felt somewhat uneasy as I went through the process that many of you have to go through, but I was relieved when my vehicle passed. What kind of experiences have you had with this program?