ST. LOUIS – Drivers in Jefferson County need to prepare for delays on Interstate 55 starting next week when traffic is reduced to one lane in both directions for nine days at a time.
Crews will close one lane on northbound I-55 before Route 67 starting Friday, July 13 at 10 a.m. That means only one lane on northbound I-55 will be open. In addition, the northbound I-55 ramp to southbound Route 67 and the northbound Route 67 ramp to northbound I-55 will also be closed. The ramps and lanes will reopen by Monday, July 23 at 5 a.m.
Crews will then close one lane on southbound I-55 before Route 67 on Friday, July 27 at 8 p.m. Again, this means only one lane of traffic will be open on southbound I-55. The ramps from southbound I-55 to northbound Route 67 and from southbound Route 67 to southbound I-55 will also be closed. Those lanes and ramps will reopen by Monday, August 6 at 2 p.m.
Detour routes for the ramp closures are as follows:
- Drivers wanting to use the northbound I-55 ramp to southbound Route 67 should take Route A to Route 67
- Drivers wanting to use the northbound Route 67 ramp to northbound I-55 or the southbound I-55 ramp to northbound Route 67 can take Route A or McNutt to I-55
- Drivers wanting to use the southbound Route 67 ramp to southbound I-55 can take Route 61 to I-55
Drivers should use both lanes leading up to the closure and then alternate merging in a zipper-like fashion into the open lane. Research shows that using both lanes and merging like a zipper can reduce congestion by as much as 40 percent. This is commonly referred to as a zipper merge.
These two around-the-clock, nine day lane closures are in place of the up to 10 weekends of lane closures that were scheduled to start soon.
The lane closures are part of the ongoing project to rehab 21 bridges along I-55 from Route Z near Pevely to Plattin Creek just south of Crystal City (approximately 8 miles). In addition, I-55 from Route Z to the Ste. Genevieve County line (approximately 16 miles) will be resurfaced and guardrail and sign improvements will be made. The work began in March 2017 and will run through late 2018.
For more information, go to http://www.modot.org/stlouis/major_projects/I55Improvements.htm.