ST. LOUIS — The Martin Luther King Bridge over the Mississippi River will finally reopen soon after being closed for nearly two years.
The Illinois Department of Transportation said Tuesday that progress on the bridge's rehabilitation project had advanced significantly and it is expected to reopen in August.
The bridge closed in August 2018 for the project and was supposed to reopen in the fall of 2019. However, last year's flooding caused trains to be rerouted through tracks that ran under the bridge, causing major delays.
For some time, trains were passing under the bridge every 30 minutes, which stalled progress since crews needed work windows of at least 4-6 hours.
The $24 million project includes the complete replacement of a bridge leading up to the MLK Bridge, as well as repairs to other bridges, ramps and roadways approaching the bridge.
