St. Louis westbound, I-55 to I-44 question.

[Gary_]

I went to Chicago from OKC I-44 to I-55 with no problems. On my return trip it seemed to me like there were not as many I-55 direction signs as there used to be to keep me on track. On my return trip I must have taken a wrong route as I ended up westbnd on I-64! I have went I-55 to I-44 many times with no problems before. Did I just screw up on this trip or did they change something to cause me to make the error? Thanks for your answers. Gary

[Bipeflier]

You just missed the exit. As you come off the bridge the first right exit is for I 70 West then almost immedately there is another right exit for I 44/55. You simply went right by going straight onto I 64.

If you do that again, simply exit at Kings Highway and go south about a mile or slightly less and it intersects with I 44.

Either that or take I 170 or I 270 south.

It is pretty busy in that area right off the bridge and you have to be on a sharp lookout or follow your Garmin.

[Gary_]

Thanks for all your answers. I guess I'll just have to be more alert next time. Gary

[tatest]

That's one where all it takes is a moment's distraction to miss the interchange.

I use a different route sometimes, I-57 (coming off US-24 from Fort Wayne) to I-74 to US-36 across Missouri. Have to watch two spots. Westbound, miss the turn to I-55, go into the north side of Springfield. Eastbound, can miss the turn to 57 north, go into Champaign. Doesn't even have to be a talking distractions, sign locations are poor, dealing with a traffic situation is enough to miss the exit.

Both of those are pretty easy to sort out, missing a turn in St Louis is messier to fix. I like to take I-255 around to the south, area is still less developed, less local on and off traffic.

[Wadcutter]

Do the I-255 bypass. You'll avoid St Louis. Coming south from Chicago take Exit 11 to I-255 south. Stay on I-255 about 20 miles and you'll cross into MO. Depending on the time of day you'll be almost alone on I-255. About 10 miles after crossing into MO you'll be at I-44.

[Engineer9860]

If you are downtown getting on I-44 from I-55 in IL can be a little weird.

Next time as soon as you are exiting the Poplar Street Bridge (Mississippi River bridge) you will need to be in the lane second from the right. At the end of the PSB exit onto I-55 south. Then stay in the right two lanes. This should put you on I-44.

Or, if you want to avoid all the spaghetti of the downtown highways take the I-255 loop south until it loops back around to I-44.