The New I-64, Y2K, and the Pope
Well, it is pretty much official. The final test has been passed (this morning’s commute) and the traffic nightmare that was supposed to be the I-64 shutdown will officially join the year 2000 computer digit scare and the traffic jams from the Pope’s visit here as catastrophes that never materialized in St. Louis. As I understand it, traffic was certainly slow this morning, but nowhere near the nightmare everyone predicted.
What should we make of this? I have no idea, other than to give credit to both drivers and transportation planners who seem to have handled everything very well. The more I think about the tipping point ideas I discussed last week, the more I think they point in the right direction. Enough people have adjusted their schedules, or switched to different routes, that the entire system has been able to handle the changes without gridlock. It’s probably that simple. And thank God for it.
