The new shutdown of Highway 40 (Interstate 64) has the street department in the city of St. Louis preparing for battle.

"It's going to be like war for us out there on Monday and Tuesday," streets director Todd Waelterman told me in an interview at the corner of Forest Park Parkway and Skinker in the city's west end.

He said he thinks traffic on crowded side streets could intensify as students return to school next week after the holiday break.

"I have hundreds of people who will be on the street. We'll have the spotters back out there at intersections. We'll have our command center going," he told me.

The city also has cameras at key intersections to monitor the changing traffic situation and has the ability to adjust the timing of traffic lights within minutes of an unexpected problem developing.

"I'll have people out there from 5 a.m. to 10 o'clock at night doing changes and messing with this stuff. So, I mean, it's like going to war. That's what we're going to have come Monday or Tuesday," Waelterman said.

He encourages drivers with specific traffic complaints and suggestions to email him at STLTrafficEmergencies (at) StLouisCity.com .

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