MoDOT chief apologizes for road conditions

ST. LOUIS - The director of the Missouri Department of Transportation is apologizing for the mess in the St. Louis area caused by the relatively light snowfall this week.

St. Louis-area highways were gridlocked for hours after snow began falling just before morning rush hour on Thursday. Hundreds of wrecks occurred.

MoDOT chief Kevin Keith told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (http://bit.ly/zAmzU2) that he was disappointed in the effort to clear roadways.

MoDOT decided not to pre-treat interstates with a salt brine solution. Instead, crews filled trucks with rock salt and began spreading it when the snow began. They then planned to spread chemicals.

But it was too late and many roadways froze over.

Keith says he has already spoken with St. Louis-area officials about how to prevent similar breakdowns in the future.

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Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com