By Rachel Lippmann, St. Louis Public Radio
St. Louis – Officials with the Missouri and Illinois departments of transportation are urging drivers to plan ahead before getting on area highways this weekend, as major thoroughfares in both states will be closed.
In Missouri, contractors doing repair work to the Daniel Boone Bridge in west St. Louis County will close Interstate 64 westbound between Long Rd. and the Missouri Research Park. Drivers can take I-270 to I-70 as a detour.
Eastbound I-64 will be closed from 22nd St. to the Poplar Street Bridge so crews can paint the bridge deck. MoDOT will also close entrance and exit ramps to the highway from Forest Park to 6th Street eastbound, and the Broadway and Pine entrances westbound. Lanes on Interstate 55 and the Poplar Street Bridge will also be closed. Motorists should take Interstate 170 to 70.
"We will likely find some other weekends in the month of September where we gotta continue this work," said MoDOT assistant district engineer Tom Blair. "We don't believe, even though they're putting lots of workers to it, that our contractors are going to be able to get all the work done on both of these interstate closures on the Missouri side this weekend."
Workers on the Illinois side have to complete their demolition of the Exchange Ave. overpass, said IDOT District 8 project manager Jim Church, or pay a $2,500 fine every 15 minutes the interstate is closed past 5 a.m. Monday. Interstate 55/70 will be closed between Route 203 and the 55/70/64 merge for that work; the detour is I-255 and I-64.
"It's one of the best weekends to do this," Church said. "We looked for the weekends where we don't have any home Cardinal games, Ram games or any other major events."
Church and Blair said the alternate routes should add no more than 5 minutes to any drive.