ST. LOUIS — Emergency road repairs in the area are expected to cause traffic issues around the area for the Monday morning commute.
MoDOT said all westbound lanes of Interstate 255 across the Jefferson Barracks Bridge were closed at 7 p.m. Sunday because of issues discovered in a bridge inspection. They also said westbound Interstate 44 at Grand Avenue was limited to one lane due to a storm grate collapse.
Both were expected to continue at least through the Monday morning commute.
The work on I-44 was finished at about 6:30 a.m. Monday. The repairs on I-255 were still continuing into the morning commute.
In a press conference, a spokesman said they discovered cracks in the steel of a bridge truss of the JB Bridge in a routine bridge inspection Sunday afternoon. The bridge was closed to traffic Sunday night and will remain closed until further inspections can be done. When they figure out how bad the damage is, they will come up with a plan for repairs. Drivers should use westbound Poplar Street Bridge at Illinois Route 3 as a detour.
The other issue came up Sunday afternoon at 2:30. The spokesman said a storm drain on I-44 near Grand collapsed. The area already was down to two lanes due to construction and was limited to one lane while they made repairs.
There are also a few other changes that aren't expected to be as concerning.
Starting Monday, MoDOT will be closing the 6th Street exit ramp on eastbound 64 Downtown. The ramp will be closed until May 21. If you normally use the exit ramp, use the 11th Street or 14th Street ramps instead.
Across the river, two of four westbound lanes of 64-55 will be closed in East St. Louis starting Monday night. IDOT is closing the lanes to make emergency repairs to the bridge just west of third street exit. IDOT will reopen the road for the morning rush hour on Tuesday and another closure will start on Tuesday night. All that work is expected to be finished by Wednesday.
For a full list of MoDOT construction projects, click here.
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