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MoDOT putting 'all they have' into I-64 repairs downtown

Planned resurfacing and painting work on I-64 in downtown St. Louis will cause delays next spring. MoDOT will also build five new bridges and a new interchange at Tower Grove/Boyle.
(via Flickr/lordsutch)
Planned resurfacing and painting work on I-64 in downtown St. Louis will cause delays next spring. MoDOT will also build five new bridges and a new interchange at Tower Grove/Boyle.

Updated 1:04 p.m. June 26:

MoDOT confirms in a press release today that two lanes will be open to traffic tomorrow morning:

"MoDOT will reopen two lanes of westbound I-64 before 6 a.m. Wednesday morning. After reopening, crews will return to the regular construction schedule for westbound I-64.  One lane on westbound I-64 will remain closed around the clock.  A second lane closes daily from 10 a.m. until 3 a.m. the next morning."

Original story:

Crews with the Missouri Department of Transportation are throwing "all they have" at repairs to the westbound lanes of Interstate 64 through downtown St. Louis.

MoDOT shut down all lanes of traffic over the weekend to do repair work to the driving surface of the double deck. Two lanes were supposed to open by rush hour. But the MoDOT engineer for St. Louis city, Deanna Venker, says the concrete was in much worse shape than expected.

She says repairs have to be done before a new driving surface can be poured.

"The driving surface that we're putting back on is meant to last between 15-20 years," Venker said. "If we do not fix what's underneath, we could have potholes again within the next year or two."

All lanes will be closed until 6 a.m. Tuesday. Crews will open one lane during the morning rush on Tuesday, then the highway will again be shut down until 6 a.m. Wednesday, when MoDOT will open both lanes for rush hour.

 
Follow Rachel Lippmann on Twitter: @rlippmann

Rachel is the justice correspondent at St. Louis Public Radio.