Crime & Safety

In Mehlville-Oakville, Traffic Problems Were "All Over the Place"

One St. Louis County Police Department officer helped push 16 cars off the road that were stuck in traffic.

As a winter storm tore through the St. Louis area on Thursday, authorities reported numerous traffic problems in the Mehlville-Oakville area.

They were "all over the place," said Officer Jared Ruhlend of the St. Louis County Police Department South County Precinct. 

"Not a whole lot of accidents - only drivers who were traffic hazards since they were stuck in traffic and just spinning their wheels," Ruhlend said. 

Find out what's happening in Mehlville-Oakvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Fortunately, as of 5 p.m. on Thursday, there were no reports of accidents involving injuries. Motorists navigated the roads safely enough to avoid accidents, but some skidded to a halt. 

"When you stop on a hill, unfortunately, you get stuck," Ruhlend said. 

Find out what's happening in Mehlville-Oakvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

One officer even helped to push 16 cars off the road that were stuck in traffic, he said.

The main problem areas were:

  • the intersection of Telegraph and Forder roads
  • the intersection of Lemay Ferry and Forder roads
  • Interstate 55 between Meramec Bottom Road and Interstate 255

On the Mehlville-Oakville Patch Facebook page, one resident said her commute home, which normally takes 17 minutes, took almost an hour on Thursday. Another Facebook fan, an Arnold woman, said she spotted 33 cars and two semi-trucks on the side of the road on her drive home from the Saint Louis Galleria in Richmond Heights.

The conditions led to the cancellation of more than 160 flights at Lambert International Airport and the shutdown of much of I-270 and I-64 so Missouri Department of Transportation crews could remove snow.

The weekend forecast doesn't appear to be as troublesome as Thursday's weather, but a chance of rain and snow is possible on Monday and Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.

Did you drive during Thursday's snowy conditions? How long was your commute? 


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