ST. LOUIS - St. Louis drivers appear to be paying attention to variable speed limits on Interstate 270, especially during major incidents, after the first full week of implementation on the route.

During morning peak traffic between May 27 and May 30, speed limits were changed 24 times on westbound/northbound I-270 and 16 times on eastbound/southbound traffic. In evening traffic during the same period, limits were changed 14 times on westbound/northbound I-270 and 37 times on eastbound/southbound.

On May 28, during an incident when a tractor-trailer crash caused corn syrup to spill onto the interstate, speed limits were dropped on southbound I-270 starting near McDonnell Boulevard. According to MoDOT traffic engineers, most traffic seemed to obey the dropping limits, which meant a shorter than usual backup for a total interstate closure. Traffic flowed well into the detour at the I-70/Route 180 (St. Charles Rock Road) exit.

"MoDOT traffic experts are still working hard to get experience to manage traffic by using variable speed limits," said Tom Blair, St. Louis assistant district engineer. "We appreciate the efforts of people who have been obeying the variable speed limits and encourage those drivers who may be a little skeptical to give variable speed limits a chance."

Commuters around St. Louis can check for the latest information on variable speeds on I-270 by using a new website at www.stlspeedlimit.com.

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