By Rachel Lippmann, KWMU
St. Louis, MO – It will be a busy construction season for motorists in the St. Louis region.
The reconstruction of Interstate 64 remains the largest undertaking. But the Missouri Department of Transportation is also scheduled to begin on several projects funded by federal stimulus dollars. Those include replacing the pavement on Memorial Drive in downtown and the ongoing upgrade of Page Avenue in St. Louis County.
With 90 active construction zones in the region, drivers will need to pay special attention, said MoDOT district engineer Ed Hassinger.
"If you follow the directions and watch your speed, pay attention, don't be talking on your cell phone and all those kind of things you can navigate those very easily, but you start doing those other things, and don't obey the speed limits, those are places get hurt and killed," he said.
The number of people killed in work zones more than doubled between 2007 and 2008, from five to 12. But Hassinger says overall, fatalities in work zones have dropped steeply in the last three years, despite some of the busiest construction seasons.