The Missouri Department of Transportation announced today, June 13, that crews will close the southbound I-55 exit to Hwy. A in Festus from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday nights through Saturday mornings each week starting Monday, June 16.
The overnight closures of the exit are expected to continue through July 11, weather permitting, MoDOT said in a written statement.
An exception to the scheduled closures will be around the Independence Day holiday, July 3-6, when no exit closures will occur.
Crews will be setting columns and panels for new noise walls along southbound I-55 in the area of the exit closure, MoDOT officials said. A detour sign will direct drivers on southbound I-55 to exit at the I-55/McNutt Street interchange in Herculaneum or at the I-55/Hwy. 67 interchange south of the Hwy. A exit and use Hwy. 61/67 to access Hwy. A.
The purpose of the overall 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.
The noise reduction walls are part of an estimated $246 million I-55 Corridor Improvements project that runs from just north of Pevely to just south of Festus.
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 within the modot.org website.
For traffic and travel information, visit MoDOT’s Traveler Information Map at traveler.modot.org/map/.