JEFFERSON CITY – The contractor on the Route 63 Katy Trail bridge deck replacement project will begin setting temporary concrete barriers on northbound Route 63 next week in preparation for switching traffic head to head on June 5. Northbound Route 63 will be down to one lane while the barricades are placed, and will remain in a single lane until the southbound bridge rehabilitation is complete.
Then, before morning rush hour on June 5, the southbound Route 63 bridge over the Katy Trail will be closed and southbound Route 63 traffic will be re-routed over the northbound Route 63 bridge, which will carry one lane of traffic in each direction. Diverting both directions of traffic to the northbound lanes will allow one lane of traffic in each direction to be open at all times.
Traffic will run head to head until the replacement of the southbound bridge deck is complete in mid-August. The entire project is scheduled to be completed in September.
Message boards and signs will direct traffic through the work zone. In addition, a Smart Work Zone system is in place to keep motorists informed and traffic moving. The system uses cameras and sensors to provide real-time travel updates to motorists via message boards.
“Drivers will most definitely experience some congestion because of this work,” said Aaron Peck, resident engineer for the Missouri Department of Transportation’s Central District. “We ask motorists to be patient and to avoid travel through this area during peak travel times, such as morning and afternoon rush periods, as much as possible.”
Peck also is urging motorists to use the zipper merge concept when traveling through the work zone. When traffic is slowed or stopped, the zipper merge encourages motorists to use both lanes of traffic until they reach the point where the road is closed, then take turns with other drivers to safely and smoothly ease into the remaining lane. The zipper merge could reduce traffic backups by up to 50 percent.
In addition to the new deck, which will widen the bridge, the project will bring the guardrail and bridge barrier on the southbound structure up to current standards. The work will allow the bridge, which is more than 60 years old, to provide an additional 20 to 30 years of service.
Some occasional overhead work on the bridge will also require full and partial closures of the Katy Trail to bicycle and pedestrian traffic underneath during weekday hours.
For more information about this project or other transportation-related matters, please call 1-888-ASK-MoDOT (275-6636), visit www.modot.org/central, or follow the Central District Facebook page at facebook.com/MoDOTCentralMissouriDistrict.
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