Motorists who dread the start of construction on a long-anticipated project to expand I-55 in both directions between Hwy. Z in Pevely and Hwy. 67 south of Festus will get some good news at a meeting Thursday, Nov. 16.
Justin Wolf, project director for the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT), said there will be few lane closures during the duration of the project and any closures will be timed to avoid headaches.
Construction is expected to begin early in 2024 and be completed by the end of 2026, Wolf said.
In addition to expanding the 12-mile stretch of I-55 to three lanes in both directions, the intersection of Hwy. 67 and Hwy. CC will be rebuilt and the pavement on the interstate between Hwy. M and Hwy. Z will be resurfaced. Other improvements will be included.
Designs for the project will be on display at the open-house style public meeting set for 4-7 p.m. this evening at the VFW Post 3777 at 900 VFW Drive in Crystal City.
Those who attend will learn more about how the various parts of the project will be timed.
“We’ll be able to show the public the full design of the work; what’s going to happen,” Wolf said. “While not everything is done, it’s far enough in the design process to be able to show drawings. The kinks have been worked out.”
Wolf said attendees may ask questions and share any concerns they have at the meeting.
“If there’s something the design team needs to know, they could take that into consideration,” he said.
In July, the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission awarded a design-build contract to KCI Construction Co. in St. Louis, working off designs completed by engineering firms Bartlett and West in Sunset Hills and Wilson and Co. in Kansas City.
The KCI Team, as the three firms are collectively known for this project, will be paid about $246 million to complete it.
“People will be able to see workers out with tree clearing, especially at the I-55 and Hwy. 67 interchange, as early as January,” Wolf said. “There will be other prep work going on through January and February. We anticipate the public will actually see some construction going on in March or April.”
However, Wolf said, what the public won’t encounter is a bunch of “lane closed” signs.
“We’re not anticipating having to close lanes that often,” he said. “We know there’s bottlenecks on I-55 during peak hours, which is why we’re doing this project in the first place. The KCI Team is committed to restricting lane closures to weekends, and only for short periods of time. A lot of the work will be in the medians.”
Wolf said 14 bridges will be replaced and 12 others will be rehabbed and improved along the stretch of I-55 to be expanded.
For the bridge replacements, Wolf said, a new span first will be built between the northbound and southbound overpasses. Then, as one of the old bridges is torn down, traffic will be diverted onto the new structure, and that process will be repeated on the other side.
“They will try to minimize the impact of any bridge work to the weekends,” Wolf said.
While every effort will be made to ensure that two lanes of traffic continue to flow in both directions most of the time, Wolf said “there will be impacts.
“I think the biggest impact will be at Hwy. Z, as the ramps are replaced. We won’t be able to keep the ramps open as they are rebuilt, so traffic will be diverted onto a detour,” he said.
Wolf said the important thing to keep in mind is that once the construction is complete, I-55 will be better.
“It’s going to be a safer, more reliable thoroughfare,” he said. “As anyone who drives it now knows, if there’s an accident and traffic is reduced to one lane, it’s a headache. But with three lanes in each direction, there will be multiple lanes open during most accidents. And the medians will be wide, with concrete barriers in between, so vehicles with flat tires or are involved in accidents can get to the side safely.”
Wolf said information displayed at the meeting will be posted afterward on MoDOT’s website.