ST. LOUIS — If Interstate 55 in south St. Louis City or St. Louis County is ever a stretch of road you need to drive, you've probably been wondering when all of the road construction will end.
That's a tough call to make, even for engineers from the Missouri Department of Transportation. Most of the blame for those difficulties can probably fall on Mother Nature's shoulders.
The road is definitely deteriorating along that stretch of 55. A MoDOT representative for the city said it's an older roadway with a lot of history. This might explain the big surprise of last week: a large sinkhole at the bottom of the I-55 southbound exit ramp to Bates Road.
This ramp is closed while crews are repairing that sinkhole. For now, if you're driving 55 south and usually exit at Bates, go early at Broadway or the next exit at Loughborough Avenue.
This came after another big delay caused by a contractor damaging the girders at I-55 and Loughborough while stripping the pavement.
As for the next stage of construction on I-55, MoDOT's Andrew Gates gave the following update: "As weather permits, crews will open up one lane southbound between Interstate 44 and Gasconade. The remaining southbound lane will remain closed, as will the ramp from Lafayette to the interstate."
Tune into Today in St. Louis weekday mornings for the latest construction challenges in this area and many others.
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