By Matt Sepic/ Julie Bierach, KWMU
St. Louis – U.S. District Judge Stephen Limbaugh Sr. has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a St. Louis man to block the shutdown of part of Interstate 64.
Bill Haas claimed state transportation officials did not take public safety and other factors into account when they planned the shutdown.
Haas said he spent $1,000 of his own money on the lawsuit, in which he represented himself.
"I'm not well-to-do by any means, but that's a small price to pay to stand up for a region of a couple million people on such an important matter," Haas said.
MODOT officials say they considered all the possible ramifications when they planned the closure.
The department announced the plans more than a year ago. Workers will shut down a five-mile stretch of I-64 west of Interstate 170 on Wednesday, January 2.