The Missouri Department of Transportation will close a small portion of an I-55 exit and on-ramp near Hwy. M in Barnhart, beginning overnight today, Aug. 26.
The first closure, from 7 p.m. today to 5 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 27, is on the northbound exit ramp, from I-55 to Hwy. M.
The second closure, from 7 p.m. on Aug. 27 to 5 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 28, is on the northbound on-ramp clover leaf, from Hwy. M to I-55. Westbound motorists on Hwy. M will still be able to access the northbound I-55 on-ramp.
I-55 Project Director Justin Wolf said the temporary closures will allow crews to add sealant to a bridge over Glaize Creek.
“We are going to put an epoxy overlay on that bridge,” he said. “If you’re going northbound on I-55 and want to exit at Hwy. M, we’ll ask you to take the Imperial Main Street exit and make a U-turn back down to Hwy. M. We don’t think there will be too much of a traffic disruption.”
MoDOT has not released an official detour route for the second night of closures, but Wolf said motorists may take Hwy. 61-67 northbound to connect with I-55 at the Imperial Main Street on-ramp or Hwy. Z southbound to access I-55 in Pevely.
The bridge work is part of a series of improvements to I-55 through Pevely, Herculaneum, Festus and Crystal City, called the I-55 Corridor Improvements project. The project’s budget of $246 million includes adding a third lane to eight miles of the interstate, replacing 16 bridges and rehabilitating six bridges.