ST. LOUIS — This might be some good news for your weekend. The major closure scheduled along Interstate 44 this weekend has been postponed.
The closure was only going to leave one lane open in south city and south county.
A new date has not been announced, but once it happens - crews will close all westbound lanes of I-44 between Hampton and Shrewsbury. At the same time, they’ll also close all but one eastbound lane at Shrewsbury. Drivers won’t be able to get on or off westbound I-44 at Hampton, Southwest, Arsenal, Jamieson or Shrewsbury.
MoDOT crews will be re-shifting and smoothing out the construction zone where drivers move from the eastbound lanes into the westbound side. They’re also winterizing the area for the season.
INTERACTIVE MAP: Live traffic conditions
The area has been under construction since at least early 2017 while crews fixed up the eastbound and westbound bridges over the BNSF railroad tracks.
However, a major setback was announced earlier this month.
Inspectors found cracks in the newly completed westbound bridge. They immediately stopped work on the eastbound bridge because the design and construction is the same for both bridges.
Work was scheduled to wrap up at the end of the year. Instead, work has been postponed until the spring and could be completed by next summer. MoDOT hired a third-party consultant to review the project. Officials said Tuesday they’re working as fast as they can to come up with some explanations and solutions to the problem.
MoDOT stressed that the westbound bridge is safe to drive on—even with the cracks—but the lifespan of the bridge won’t be as long as projected.
