ST. LOUIS — I-55 drivers...this is not good news: the bridge construction at Loughborough will not wrapping up any time soon.
The contractor hired for the job reportedly damaged support beams on the bridge beyond repair, the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) revealed Thursday morning.
"The current I-55 lane closures with two lanes open in each direction between River Des Peres and Loughborough will remain in place at least through 2024," MoDOT Assistant District Engineer for St. Louis, Tom Evers, said. "That also means that the ramp from Loughborough to I-55 and the ramps from Germania and Loughborough to northbound 55 will remain closed until the northbound bridge over Union Pacific is complete."
MoDOT anticipates paving work to extend into 2025.
The original project was to remove the driving surface and replace it, using the existing steel girder below. Now the steel girder needs to be replaced.
The contractor, KCI Construction, used a breaking hammer to demolish the driving surface, MoDOT engineers said. While common and usually effective, in this circumstance, the breaking hammer broke through more than just the driving surface.
"Bridge engineers have determined that most of these girders over the Union Pacific railroad were damaged too severely to be repaired," Evers said.
Highlighted by bright orange spray paint, sections of the girders are dented and drooping.
"We hold our contractor responsible for the demolition practices they perform," MoDOT District Bridge Engineer Joe Molinaro told 5 On Your Side. "They were expected to be able to monitor the work to ensure they weren't going to damage what was going to be used in place."
MODOT had previously hired KCI Construction for numerous projects. KCI has reportedly used the same breaking hammer method on five other bridges. MoDOT engineers have verified that similar damage has not happened on the other bridges.
"The center portion of the girder is a little thinner," Molinaro said. "The newer standards that we build bridges to have thicker girders, so we think that might have been part of the contributing factor where the contractor didn't realize that he was causing the damage as he was breaking it because of the thinner girders."
5 On Your Side reached out to KCI Construction for comment. The company has not responded.
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