Beginning at 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 28, the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) plans to begin shifting southbound I-55 traffic in the Festus area onto the two newly constructed lanes in the median area from the Quarry Road bridge just north of Festus to just south of the I-55 and Hwy. 67 interchange. The shift involves a 3-mile section of I-55.
Plans call for southbound I-55 traffic to be fully switched onto the new median lanes by 10 a.m. on Monday, March 3. Moving traffic onto the new median pavement allows for the demolition of the existing southbound I-55 pavement and I-55 bridges over Central Avenue, Third Street and Hwy. 67. All work is weather permitting.
Originally, the shift was scheduled to start the second week of January, but it was delayed due to inclement weather.
Justin Wolf, MoDOT project director, said there will be a concrete barrier between the two new lanes, so motorists who plan to exit I-55 at Festus need to stay in the right-most new lane at the beginning of the 3-mile stretch or they will be unable to exit the interstate. Motorists also will not be able to switch lanes through the new stretch due to the concrete barrier between the lanes.
“One of the tricky parts is a lot of I-55 has a 60-foot wide median, but through Festus, we only have about 40 feet, so it’s a bit narrower and it’s tighter and more constrained, and that’s making it a little bit more complicated,” Wolf said. “That’s why it’s really important that when we do shift traffic onto the new concrete, we’re going to have two lanes going southbound, and one lane is going to be on the right side of the new concrete barrier, and one lane is going to be on the left side of the concrete barrier.”
In addition to the traffic shift, the southbound Hwy. 67 loop ramp to southbound I-55 will be closed for six months beginning Friday, Feb. 28, while the southbound I-55 bridge over Hwy. 67 is demolished and replaced.
The improvements are part of the three-year I-55 Corridor Upgrades in Jefferson County that includes adding a third lane to an 8-mile stretch of I-55 from just north of Hwy. Z near Pevely to the Hwy. 67 exit south of Festus. The anticipated completion date is December 2026.