ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — Drivers will want to avoid a stretch of Interstate 44 this weekend in St. Louis County.
Crews are shutting down all lanes in both directions at Big Bend Boulevard.
The Missouri Department of Transportation began work to remove the Big Bend bridge over I-44 Friday morning. Crews started by closing the right lane in both directions to remove that bridge near Kirkwood and Crestwood.
After rush hour Friday evening, crews start closing all lanes of I-44 at the bridge for the weekend. Additional closures will start at 7 p.m. with all lanes closed by 9 p.m. Friday. Big Bend over the interstate will also be closed by 9 p.m. Friday.
Traffic will be routed up and over the ramps this weekend, but drivers can expect much slower travel times. Drivers on Big Bend are highly encouraged to use alternate routes to get to I-44 during this weekend's closure to reduce the impact on drivers that are being rerouted off the interstate.
Three lanes on I-44 will reopen by 5 a.m. Monday.
MoDOT also offered detour options for drivers on Big Bend looking to get onto the interstate once the bridge is closed. Drivers needing to go east on I-44 from southbound Big Bend can take I-44 westbound to Lindbergh Boulevard and then get on the highway eastbound. Drivers wanting to go west on I-44 from northbound Big Bend can take I-44 eastbound to Elm Avenue and then get on the highway westbound.
One lane in each direction on I-44 will remain closed through August. Big Bend over the interstate also will be closed through that time.
This is the latest major project impacting drivers on St. Louis area interstates.
Last weekend, MoDOT began work on a three-year project to fix or replace 13 bridges on I-55, stretching from I-44 near downtown to Lindbergh Boulevard in south St. Louis County.
The first phase of the project has shifted two northbound I-55 lanes into the southbound traffic between I-44 and Potomac Avenue — a roughly 1 1/2-mile stretch through south city near the downtown St. Louis area. Three ramps are also closed: from Lafayette to southbound I-55, 3200 Broadway (Exit 206B) and Arsenal (Exit 206C).
This I-55 lane shift will continue for the rest of 2022.