Road condition update for drivers

I-70 Bridge to Detour Drivers During Summer and Next Year

For 12 months starting in November and for several weekends this summer, construction on Interstate 70's Blanchette Bridge over the Missouri River, between St. Louis and St. Charles, Mo., at mile marker 230, will detour westbound I-70 traffic. Due to the construction, commercial motor vehicle drivers are urged to take a detour, using I-270 and Mo. 370 as an alternate route.

Between now and November, smaller weekend projects will close multiple lanes of I-70 near the bridge. These weekends, the the Missouri Department of Transportation says, are a good opportunity for drivers to get used to the detour route. Although the detour adds five miles to the route, it is expected to shave several minutes off of travel time compared to driving through the narrow work zones.

That work is scheduled for the weekends of June 22-24, June 29-July 1 and July 21-23. The dates are subject to change due to weather or supply issues.

The weekend of July 13-25 on the east end of the bridge, two lanes of I-70 will close in each direction as crews build crossover lanes in the median. In early November, the crossover will be put to use as the current westbound bridge is closed.

To learn more about the project, go to www.modot.org/blanchettebridge. Drivers can sign up for MODOT email updates on the bridge project and detours.

Tony the Tiger

Today I want to talk about an article I read about a Siberian-Bengal mix named Tony. Tony the tiger lives at a truck stop in Louisiana and has been an attraction there for passersby for years. The tiger has been there since his owner bottle fed him as a cub and now animal rights groups are trying to remove Tony from his home.  I have many different feelings about this. On the highest level, if the animal is in healthy condition and has an adequate living situation and the owner has him legally, then leave them be.

Should tigers be pets? Probably not. But the guy doesn’t have Tony running around his living room playing with his children calling him safe! He knows the pet is dangerous and treats him with respect. I think people are so quick to jump up and down for pets like this because they don’t see a tiger as a pet one should own at all because you can’t play with it and it can kill you… Well my pet jellyfish sits in that same category.

And for a tiger that has grown up in that environment, what difference does it make to him? He has no idea he lives at a truck stop. And if you move him to a sanctuary, how do you know he won’t miss his owner? As long as he lives in a suitable environment, to me, what difference does it make if people take pictures with him at a truck stop versus a zoo? Apparently “Truck Stop” is a dirty word and automatically means it’s completely unfit for pets. If Tony is healthy, I say let the man keep his cat.

Read the story here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/03/truck-stop-tiger_n_1073640.html