ST. LOUIS – Starting Wednesday, drivers heading to Illinois on the eastbound PSB will need to pick the correct lane early to ensure they are able to exit the roadway.
Crews will split traffic across the Poplar Street Bridge starting before evening rush Wednesday, July 26, with one lane going to the left and two lanes going to the right as part of continuing work to place a new driving surface on the Poplar Street Bridge.
Drivers heading to Illinois Route 3 or any exits in East St. Louis must be in the right lane on eastbound I-64 as they approach the bridge. There will be no opportunity to cross to any of those exits from the left lane.
Crews will close two lanes on the Poplar Street Bridge – the left lane currently closed around the clock and the second lane from the left – starting at 4 a.m. Wednesday, July 26. This is a typical weekday closure during the construction.
At 2:30 p.m., crews will reopen the left lane, which has been closed since late May. The second lane from the left will remain closed around the clock and traffic will split around the work zone. In the closed lane, crews will be removing and replacing the driving surface on the bridge with the same surface placed on the left lane across the bridge.
The second from the left lane will remain closed until mid-September.
This fall, crews will close the ramp from northbound I-55 to the eastbound bridge, as well as the two right lanes on the eastbound PSB. The only available access to the PSB at that time will be from I-64. While the ramp is closed, drivers will need to continue on eastbound I-44 to Madison (exit 293), take Madison to Broadway, Broadway to Cass and take the Tucker ramp onto eastbound I-70 at the Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge. From downtown, drivers can use the 6th Street ramp to get onto eastbound I-64. The ramp will remain closed for about five months. During this portion of the project, the two right lanes across the Poplar Street Bridge will remain closed.
For more on the project, please visit: http://www.modot.org/stlouis/major_projects/PoplarStreetRampproject.htm.