Interstate 64: St. Louis – Missouri

Take a fast-paced ride through the urban core of eastern Missouri as we follow a dynamic 6-mile stretch of Interstate 64 eastbound through St. Louis, from Brentwood Boulevard to the heart of downtown near 14th Street. This route offers a rapid-fire tour through some of the city’s busiest corridors—threading past lush parklands, cultural landmarks, and the soaring steel of the St. Louis skyline.

Our journey begins at the Brentwood Boulevard interchange, where merging onto I-64 east can feel like a game of timing and nerves. This area, flanked by shopping centers and dense neighborhoods, marks the western edge of St. Louis proper. Once on the mainline, the freeway quickly settles into a steady rhythm, flanked by mature trees and a soundscape of steady commuter traffic. As we roll past the Clayton area, the surroundings shift from suburban commercial zones to more urban scenery, with mid-rise buildings peeking through the foliage. Before long, we’re gliding along the southern edge of Forest Park, one of the largest urban parks in the United States.

Forest Park is a crown jewel of the city, and while we only catch glimpses from the highway, we pass close to major landmarks like the Saint Louis Zoo and Saint Louis Science Center, which actually straddles the interstate via a futuristic skybridge. The road bends gently northeast here, a subtle reorientation that guides us ever closer to downtown. With each passing mile, the density of overpasses and exit signs grows—clues that we’re nearing the bustling core of the city.

Just west of the Grand Boulevard interchange, the highway undergoes a striking transformation: I-64 becomes a double-deck structure, a signature feature of downtown St. Louis’s highway system. Eastbound traffic drops to the lower deck, offering a somewhat enclosed, almost tunnel-like view of the concrete underbelly of the city above. This configuration continues for roughly half a mile before we emerge briefly onto a standard elevated freeway. But the respite is short-lived—at 14th Street, the road again descends into a split-level format. Here, the lanes divide beneath the towering shadows of civic buildings and aging rail infrastructure.

We exit the highway via the 14th Street ramp, threading between the Enterprise Center and Stifel Theatre, iconic venues for sports and the arts. This marks the end of our short but compelling trek across the city—six miles that pack in a cross-section of St. Louis’s past, present, and ever-evolving skyline.