Section of Missouri Route 109 Caving with Mudslide

A 250-feet stretch of Missouri Route 109 is a bit like television footage one sees happening in jungle-prone countries where a hillside suddenly slides down and takes everything in its path with it. Nature is taking its course on this highway, and it's a good thing that Missouri Department of Transportation officials were keeping vigil over the problem spot and shut it down this morning around 5 a.m.

No passengers or vehicles should be near what's occurring on this major artery; simply glance at the photos that accompany this article to see why.

At a 1:30 p.m. press conference conducted at the Missouri Department of Transportation Management Center in Chesterfield, future plans for fixing the problem section of Route 109 were revealed.

An estimated 15,000 to 20,000 vehicles per day travel Route 109.

Ed Hassinger, district engineer for the MoDOT St. Louis region, said the pavement is moving quickly enough down the hill now that one could see its movement if one were to be able to sit there for a couple of hours to monitor it.

Hassinger said MoDOT representatives plan to meet with potential contractors on Wednesday, followed by one contractor receiving the bid by Friday so that repair work can begin quickly.

"We anticipate the roadway being closed for at least a month," he said.

Hassinger said that over years soil around highways saturates. "Soil could sit there for 13 years and not do anything. Then, suddenly, once the water weight is too much for the soil to take, you get what we're seeing on 109," he said.

"We knew there was a slide at that section of the highway, but it hasn't moved in the last couple of years," said Hassinger. "Our plan was to wait until school was out to work on it, though."

Hassinger said when hillslides do decide to go, they go relatively quickly.

He said no drivers were in danger over the past few days, but they did believe the problem was large enough and changing too rapidly not to take action this morning.

Hassinger said the chosen contractor will dig out the entire section of roadway, fill in with large rocks, replace the soil and use a fabric material to help hold the new construction in place. 

He said "slide failures" happen all the time on highways, but most just are not as visible as the one happening in Wildwood.

"Remember that these roads were dirt roads turned into asphalt roads in the '30s and '40s, and then into a hard surface in the '50s," said Hassinger.

"We would have liked to have done this repair work when we built the bridge on Route 109 last summer, but we thought the situation was bearable and could wait," he said.

MoDOT officials encourage drivers to make sure which alternative routes they will take. "Like before, there are some good detours that don't take too long," Hassinger said.

Hassinger estimated the repair work to be a $500,000 project.