ST. LOUIS – In an effort to give drivers and emergency responders a little more space, MoDOT will restripe westbound I-44 between Grand and Kingshighway to two 12-foot lanes this weekend.
This restriping is in the area where the department is maintaining six interstate bridge, where drivers currently have three 10-foot lanes.
Crews will close all but one westbound lane between Grand and Arsenal, starting at 8 a.m. Saturday, April 28, for the restriping. There will also be intermittent closures on entrance and exit ramps between Lafayette and Kingshighway to line up the ramp stripes with the new interstate stripes.
Crews are expecting to open two 12-foot lanes between Grand and Kingshighway, with the remaining six feet for use as a shoulder, by 5 p.m. Saturday, April 28. Drivers will still have three 12-foot lanes between Kingshighway and Arsenal, before dropping back to two 12-foot lanes between Arsenal and Shrewsbury.
“We have been monitoring the flow of traffic through here, and based on the concerns raised by commuters and emergency services, and our observations, we have decided to make this change. Although we have used 10-foot lanes on I-44 successfully in the past, we are seeing fewer safety concerns while moving the same amount of traffic on the two-lane section further west at the Shrewsbury bridge work,” said Michelle Forneris, MoDOT area engineer for St. Louis City.
This work replaces interstate bridges at Kingshighway, Thurman and 39th Street and rehabilitates interstate bridges over Vandeventer, Tower Grove and the Union Pacific Railroad tracks.