LACLEDE COUNTY, Mo. – Contractors will use a method called heat straightening to repair girders on the Route F bridge over Interstate 44 in Sleeper starting Monday, April 24th. Traffic will be reduced on westbound I-44 to one 12-foot lane from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily during the work, which will run through May 1.
The girder was damaged last fall when a raised boom on a piece of equipment struck the bridge.
The heat straightening method involves applying extreme heat to the bent or damaged steel so that workers can make repairs in place. The method is used as a safe and cost-effective alternative to a total replacement of steel.
International Straightening, Inc. of Bismarck, N.D. is the contractor on the project.
For more information about other transportation-related matters, please call 1-888-ASK-MoDOT (275-6636) or visit www.modot.org/central. You can also follow MoDOT Central District on Twitter (@MoDOT_Central) or Facebook (Facebook.com/MoDOTCentralMissouriDistrict) for project updates and other transportation-related news.