ST. LOUIS -- MoDOT is working to preserve part of St. Louis' past as construction continues on the Poplar Street Bridge project.Archaeologists have been digging around the clock.
MoDOT is excavating the remains of an old French property, right next to where construction crews will soon widen the northbound ramp from I-55 to the Poplar.
Preservationist Michael Meyer said he wants to preserve the bits and pieces of outbuildings that were built there by a French soldier around 1765.
"In St. Louis, no one has ever found any evidence of the original settlement, of the original french colony, until recently," he said.
Crews have found plates, buckshot, and even food remains from 18th century French settlers and 19th century American settlers. Meyer has called the work one of the highlights of his career, because no one really expected to find it. He said crews will finish up their work sometime later this week before restart work in the late fall or early winter.
