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Soulard residents plan commutes around I-55 road work

The closures make up about a 1 1/2 mile stretch between Interstate 44 in and Lafayette Avenue in south St. Louis.

ST. LOUIS — There are signs set up alerting drivers to two southbound Interstate 55 lane closures.

In total, it's about a 1 1/2 mile stretch between Interstate 44 and Lafayette Avenue in St. Louis.

"That's going to be a nightmare," said Kevin Simpson, the owner of The Doghaus in Soulard.

Simpson will have to plan his commute around the road work on I-55, and so will a couple of his regulars.

"It's going to make it tough every morning trying to get around," customer Matt Patterson said.

"It's going to be an extra 10-15 minutes every where I go," added Kali Gustafson, another customer.

Missouri Department of Transportation crews closed the two southbound lanes on I-55 at about 8 a.m. Sunday.

"We have 13 bridges that we will either be re-decking or rehabbing," said MoDOT area engineer Jen Wade.

Over the next three years, there will be bridge work and resurfacing projects up and down the corridor in both directions between I-44 in St. Louis and Lindbergh Boulevard in south St. Louis County.

"That means taking off all the concrete surface down to the girders and replacing it. So in order to do that we really have to close all the lanes in one direction of the highway," Wade said.

Two northbound lanes will shift drivers into the southbound area—a temporary inconvenience for necessary improvements.

"I think anything financially going toward bettering the roads and things like that is beneficial for the city as a whole," Gustafson said.

"If you've lived in the city of St. Louis, it comes with the territory. There's always some type of construction that's going to be going on. You either live with it and get mad or live with it and don't get mad. It's going to be a part of your life no matter what you do," Simpson said.

Three ramps are closed: the ramp from Lafayette Avenue to southbound I-55, the exit to Broadway (206B) and the exit to Arsenal Street (206C).

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