Construction will begin late this year or early next year on a long-anticipated project to expand I-55 to three lanes in both directions between Hwy. Z in Pevely and the Hwy. 67 interchange south of Festus.
The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission voted on July 12 to select a design and construction team for the project.
KCI Construction Co. of St. Louis will be the builder, working off designs from engineering firms Bartlett and West of Sunset Hills and Wilson and Co. of Kansas City.
The commission previously decided the I-55 project would be a design-build project, and the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) narrowed down the list of prospective bidders for the project to two teams.
Under the design-build concept, MoDOT sought teams that included a civil engineering firm to design the project according to MoDOT parameters and a contractor to build from those plans.
The KCI Team, as the three firms are collectively known for this project, will be paid about $246 million to complete the project. The timeline calls for all work to be completed by the end of 2026.
“We are getting an excellent value for this $246 million investment,” said Justin Wolf, project director for MoDOT.
Wolf said the project has grown in scope from the initial plan to add a third lane in both directions from Pevely to south of Festus and Crystal City.
He said to the north, KCI will resurface I-55 from Hwy. M south to Hwy. Z.
“That stretch was expanded about 10 years ago,” he said, “so it needs a little attention.”
At the south, parts of the cloverleaf at I-55 and Hwy. 67 will be redesigned to improve traffic congestion.
“During the evening rush hour, we’re seeing bottlenecks of people exiting southbound I-55 onto southbound Hwy. 67,” Wolf said. “We’re planning on adding another lane on that ramp so that there are two lanes getting off I-55.”
The same thing will occur in the opposite direction, with a straighter two-lane ramp from northbound Hwy. 67 onto northbound I-55.
“That’s our bottleneck in the morning,” Wolf said. “At the point where motorists enter I-55, it will be four lanes, with no merging into northbound traffic necessary at that point.”
A major addition will be a new intersection at highways 67 and CC just south of the I-55 interchange.
That intersection, near Faith Baptist Church and Stockham’s Gas Mart, will be converted from one controlled by traffic signals into a highway interchange.
“The traffic going south on Hwy. 67, much of it coming off I-55, comes up on the crest of a hill at Hwy. CC,” Wolf said. “When traffic stops there, particularly big trucks, it takes them a long time to get going again. That causes delays all the way back to the interstate.”
When work is completed, Hwy. 67 at that intersection will be lowered and an overpass allowing through traffic between County Road CC and Hwy. CC will be built, along with entrance and exit ramps in both directions.
“The trucks and other traffic will not have to stop there, and you’ll see improved safety – that intersection has been the site of several accidents – and better traffic flow.”
Wolf said in the area between Pevely and Festus, 14 bridges will be replaced and 12 others will be rehabbed and improved.
“Every span along that stretch will be either replaced or rehabilitated,” Wolf said.
He said KCI expects to generally keep two lanes of traffic on I-55 open in both directions during construction, although traffic may have to be directed off the interstate in some areas while bridge work is ongoing.
“The plan is to divert traffic in both directions onto one bridge while the other is being built, and then once that’s done, the new bridge will temporarily handle traffic in both directions until the one on the other side is under construction,” he said.
While he conceded that any work on the interstate can be a source of annoyance for regular commuters, those who frequent I-55 should take comfort in knowing the disruption will be temporary.
“When this is done, all the pavement on I-55 from Hwy. M to Hwy. 67 will be replaced or resurfaced, and all the bridges will be rehabilitated or replaced,” he said. “We shouldn’t have to address any issues on I-55 in southern Jefferson County for at least 15 years.”
Wolf said the KCI Team will be a good contractor for the project.
“They are very excited to be part of this investment in Jefferson County,” Wolf said. “A lot of the people who will be working on this project live either in Jefferson County or to the counties south of it.”