Prior to Monday’s early afternoon snowfall, the Missouri Department of Transportation was not prepared to pretreat major roadways, and officials acknowledged the lapse during a press conference held around noon yesterday. The fast-moving system swept into the St. Louis region several hours earlier than MoDOT expected, which quickly coated interstates and triggered widespread crashes and standstill traffic.
“Our expectation was that this was coming in at 4 p.m. this afternoon. So, we didn’t get out there. If we would have known it was coming at noon, we would have got them out there as soon as possible,” MoDOT St. Louis District Maintenance Engineer Bob Becker said. He explained that crews began mobilizing only once it became clear the snow bands were arriving ahead of schedule.
The National Weather Service had issued a Winter Weather Advisory at 9 a.m., noting that snowfall could begin around midday and drop 2 to 4 inches across the metro area. By late morning, conditions deteriorated quickly along I-70 and I-64 as moderate to heavy snow intensified. Between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., St. Louis police reported more than 100 crashes as drivers became stranded or stuck in gridlocked traffic.
City crews in St. Louis, however, said they began treating roads with chemicals earlier in the morning and deployed a full team of roughly 50 plow operators shortly before noon. They focused first on major routes before moving to school entrances and key intersections.
MoDOT officials said the department was preparing to return to the interstates Monday evening ahead of a second round of snowfall expected between 7 and 10 p.m. Becker urged drivers to stay off the roads as much as possible so plows could work, noting that freezing overnight temperatures remain their biggest concern.
Despite the chaotic first wave, which MoDOT says “came all at once”, the agency plans to continue treating trouble spots into Tuesday in hopes of improving conditions as the storm moves out of the region.