The Missouri Department of Transportation will close all lanes of northbound I-55 from McNutt Street in Herculaneum to Hwy. Z in Pevely starting at 11 p.m. Friday, May 16, and continuing through 4 a.m., Saturday, May 17, weather permitting.
Those lanes will be closed so crews may pour concrete for a new bridge being built over Joachim Creek, MoDOT announced today, May 14, in a written statement.
A signed detour will direct drivers on northbound I-55 to exit the interstate at the McNutt interchange and use Hwy. 61-67 to bypass the closed section of I-55 and then reenter northbound I-55 at the Hwy. Z interchange.
The bridge work is part of an estimated $246 million I-55 Corridor Improvements project that runs from just north of Pevely south to just south of Festus. The purpose of the project is to address traffic and safety concerns along the I-55 corridor and account for future development and growth patterns in the region, according to the MoDOT website.
In March 2024, MoDOT had a groundbreaking for the project, which includes constructing a third lane in both directions from Hwy. Z to Hwy. 67; replacing the signalized intersection at Hwy. 67 and Hwy. CC with an interchange that allows free-flowing traffic at of Hwy. 67 under a new Hwy. CC bridge; constructing new interchanges at Hwy. Z in Pevely, McNutt Street in Herculaneum and at Hwy. 67 south of Festus; replacing 14 bridges; rehabilitating 12 bridges and other improvements.
MoDOT awarded the design-build project to the team of KCI Construction Company, Bartlett & West and Wilson & Company.
The project’s targeted completion date is December 2026, the MoDOT website states.
For additional information about current and upcoming detours and project status, visit the I-55 Corridor Improvement project link on the modot.org website.
For traffic and travel information, visit MoDOT’s Traveler Information Map at traveler.modot.org/map/.