By Matt Sepic, KWMU
St. Louis – Workers have closed the Hampton Avenue bridge over Interstate I-64, and they plan to tear it down over the weekend.
That means the exit and entrance ramps at Hampton and 64 are closed as well, as is the entrance to Forest Park.
Dan Galvin with Gateway Constructors said the new bridge will open on a limited basis by Memorial Day. He said the new Hampton Avenue interchange will be similar to the one at Kingshighway.
"It's going to function a whole lot better than what's there now," Galvin said. "We're also going to have a separate exit ramp and lane for traffic going to Oakland Ave. So it will eliminate that additional traffic that would tie things up frequently at Hampton right now."
I-64 will be closed at Hampton from Friday at 10 p.m. until Monday at 5:30 a.m., but drivers will be able to exit and immediately re-enter the freeway.
The eastern five miles of I-64 slated for a major overhaul, from Interstate 170 to Kingshighway, will close entirely in January after the western half reopens.