ST. LOUIS - Spring will officially begin next month and more people will take to the roads and begin traveling. March also begins the season for road construction and work zones for MoDOT crews and contractors.
Some work is already underway, but in just a couple of weeks motorists will begin to see the impact on and around the Poplar Street Bridge downtown.
“The Poplar Street Bridge job and nearly all the work that we’ll be doing is rehabilitation/repair or improvements to our existing roads and bridges. We want to make sure that motorists know where the most impacts to traffic are expected so they can be prepared,” said MoDOT District Engineer Greg Horn.
MoDOT projects expected to have the biggest traffic impact to motorists in and around the St. Louis region this year are:
St. Louis City:
- I-64 Poplar Street Bridge widening – This project adds an eastbound lane to the Poplar Street Bridge (PSB), adds a second lane to the northbound I-55 ramp, and extends the 6th Street ramp into Illinois. Work will also overlay the eastbound lanes and repaint the bridge. March to mid-August three lanes remain open on eastbound I-64. Then, the northbound I-55 ramp to PSB closes until late December 2017. Work starts in early 2017 and should be complete in fall 2018.
- I-64 bridge maintenance work – Work overlays 18 bridges on both eastbound and westbound I-64 from Tamm to Lindbergh. There will be weekend and overnight lane closures. Work will begin early July and will be complete in November 2017.
- I-55 bridge rehabilitation – This project rehabilitates the southbound and northbound bridges over the 3rd Street Viaduct as well as the ramps between the interstate and 7th and 8th streets. It will include three narrow lanes on northbound I-55/eastbound I-44 and a one lane reduction on the ramp from northbound I-55/Lafayette. Work is in process and will be finished in late 2017.
St Louis County:
- I-70 and I-170 bridge maintenance work- This work provides road improvements on all bridges in the interchange. There will be weekend ramp closures and traffic pattern shifts on and around the interchange. This project begun last year will be complete by summer 2017.
- I-270 – Pavement repairs. Work includes pavement repair and resurfacing between Route 364 and I-55. During this project, up to three lanes will be closed on I-270 during off peak hours. Work will start on the northern portion of the interstate (between Route 364 and Route 100) in 2017 and will continue between Route 100 and I-55 in 2018.
- I-44 over Union Pacific Railroad bridge rehabilitation. This project removes and replaces the driving surface from Murdock to the River Des Peres and renovates the bridge over Union Pacific Railroad. During construction the ramp from Shrewsbury to the interstate will be closed. One lane on I-44 will be closed around the clock during bridge construction. The project starts in 2017 and will be completed in 2018.
Jefferson County:
- Interstate 55 from north of Route Z to the Ste. Genevieve County line– Rehab of 21 bridges over northbound and southbound I-55, as well as pavement and guardrail improvements on I-55. The work will begin in March and continues through 2018. There will be overnight and weekend lane closures for much of the year as crews work to rehab the bridges. No full closures are expected. The zipper merge is encouraged on this project.
St. Charles County:
- Interstate 70 from Fifth Street to Mid Rivers - Pavement and barrier wall improvements to begin in spring 2017. This work will require overnight and off-peak lane closures. Completion will be in spring 2019. There will actually be two separate projects along this stretch: I-70 from 5th Street to Mid Rivers Mall Drive, and eight bridge deck treatments. Of the eight bridges, I-70@ Rte. Z and I-70@ Wentzville Parkway will have the most traffic impact.
- Route 61 from Granville Drive to Route P - There are several proposed safety improvements along the two-and-a-half mile stretch that include:
- Removing the Route P and Peine Road crossovers and replacing them with one interchange to serve both roads.
- Converting the Grothe Road crossover to a right-in/right-out intersection and extending the merge lanes on Route 61.
- Converting both Granville Drive crossings to a right-in/right out intersection and extending the southbound Route 61 right turn lane at the eastern Granville Drive crossing.
Work will begin this summer and will be completed in the summer of 2018. There will be weekend and overnight lane closures.
Franklin County:
- Route 47 Missouri River Bridge – The project began in late summer 2016 and will be completed in late 2018, with the old bridge demolished in 2019. Off-peak lane closures will continue during this work.
In addition to these construction work zones, this is also the time when maintenance crews will be out in moving/mobile work zones on roadways, performing pothole patching, striping and other tasks.
“It is important that motorists pay attention; stay buckled up and put phones down as they travel through any and all of our work zones. Last year, there were 7 work zone crashes that resulted in the loss of 7 lives. We want motorists and our crews to go home safely every day. That means that our crews must be careful and alert and motorists must be focused on the road,” Horn said.
Information on MoDOT work zones can be found at modot.org/stlouis or www.gatewayguide.com.
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