By Maria Hickey, KWMU
St. Louis, MO – Communities along I-64/Highway 40 are bracing for the work that will begin next year on the road.
Most mayors in the area say they're glad the plan calls for a shorter construction schedule, but they worry the work will impact local businesses.
Clayton Mayor Ben Uchitelle told KWMUs St. Louis on the Air this week that he was surprised to learn of some of the planned shut-downs along the highway.
MO-DOT spokeswoman Linda Wilson says the two competing teams required their plans be kept confidential. But Uchitelle would have liked to have known the details ahead of time.
"The half billion dollars comes from you and me as taxpayers, and it would be unheard of at least from my standpoint in the city, to have some secret thing like that going on," Uchitelle said. "I can appreciate what you're saying, but it didn't sit well."
Uchitelle says he's concerned about partial shut-downs on Big Bend, Hanley, and Brentwood Boulevard during the construction.
Wilson says they had to keep the bids confidential, but informed communities as much as they could: "We understand the frustration that people wanted to see what were in those proposals, but we did have a lot of conversations with those cities about the possibilities and how we were all going to continue to work together through the construction."
The project will begin next year with sections of the entire highway set to close in 2008.