Joe Smith: WB Route 40 at Missouri River closed weekends of Sept. 10, 17

Closures will impact first two Mizzou home games

ST. LOUIS – The Missouri Department of Transportation will close westbound Route 40 at the Missouri River (Daniel Boone Bridge) for more repair work the weekends of Sept. 10-13 and Sept. 17-20, 2010.

This will impact all drivers heading from Chesterfield to St. Charles County those weekends, as well as fans heading to the Mizzou home games against McNeese State and San Diego State.

Crews will close westbound Route 40, and all access to St. Charles County from Route 40, at 8 p.m. both Friday Sept. 10 and Friday Sept. 17 and will reopen the route by 5 a.m. the following Mondays.  During this closure, crews will continue to reset bearings, replace expansion joints and repair splice plates on the bridge. Access to St. Charles County using I-70, Route 364, and Route 370 will remain open.
The detour for the closure is taking I-270 to I-70.  For people returning to St. Louis, however, eastbound Route 40 over the river will remain open.

"We understand how important the traditions are for home games at Mizzou," said Karen Yeomans, West St. Louis County area engineer. "There are a lot of activities in St. Charles County which draw people from St. Louis, including the wineries, bike trails and many other events. People will still be able to do these activities, but knowing about this work will help people determine which routes they need to use to get to them. To help, we'll minimize construction work on the I-270 and I-70 detour route. We will provide detour information on our overhead message boards."

The preventative maintenance work is needed to ensure that the 1930s-era Boone Bridge remains safe for the 75,000 vehicles which use it daily.

Plan ahead to avoid work zones by calling 1-888-ASK-MODOT or visiting our website at www.modot.org/stlouis/

Travelers can get up-to-the-minute traffic information on interstates or major state routes by dialing 5-1-1 from most cell phones; if 5-1-1 isn't available from your telephone, please dial 877-478-5511 (877-4STL-511).