ST. LOUIS – The Missouri State Highway Patrol and Missouri Department of Transportation are launching a new operation to combat growing concerns of debris from unsecured loads on trucks causing congestion and crashes on regional roadways.
Since 2020, debris from trucks has led to over 1,500 crashes, with 300 tons of rubbish reported on roads in the last four months alone.
“Definitely have seen it numerous times, a lot of trash blowing off the back of semis or big trucks,” commuter Garrett Russell said.
Russell, who commutes into St. Louis from Illinois every day, expressed frustration over the lack of enforcement on trash trucks.
“You got guys that go out and do community service, pick up trash, try and keep our roads and interstates looking nice,” he said. “And then these trash trucks, they don’t enforce them to cover the back of their trucks or anything, it just blows right out on the interstate.”
Michelle Forneris, MoDOT Assistant District Engineer in St. Louis, highlighted the scale of the problem, MoDOT crews removed 8,800 tons of debris from St. Louis area roadsides in 2024, the equivalent of about 64,000 sofas.
Corporal Dallas Thompson, Missouri State Highway Patrol, said that debris often ends up in medians and ditches, causing drainage issues and road flooding during heavy rain.
For the next two weeks, the Highway Patrol and MoDOT have identified several routes throughout the region that commonly have solid waste haulers and areas of concern for violations of unsecured loads.
“Let these haulers know that we’re out there, and we’re going to really start enforcing more and more as time goes on,” Thompson said.
While the current enforcement operation may end on May 10, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and MoDOT want remind drivers that it is part of the law to cover what you carry.
All facts from this article were gathered by KTVI journalists. This article was converted into this format with assistance from artificial intelligence. It has been edited and approved by KTVI staff.