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I-70 roadwork a preview for Blanchette shutdown


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Motorists on Interstate 70 will get a little taste - starting this weekend - of what life will be like when the westbound lanes of the busy Blanchette Bridge are closed in November.

Friday night, the Missouri Department of Transportation will close one lane in each direction of I-70 from near 5th St. to the Earth City Expressway. MoDOT engineer Tom Evers says work is related to the planned closure of the westbound span of the Blanchette Bridge in November.

"The work is being done to kind of prepare the crossover pavement and crossover drainage on both the St. Charles and St. Louis sides of the river. And that will be in place for about three weeks in preparation the November work where traffic will be fully diverted from the westbound side to the eastbound side," Evers said.

Evers says MoDOT is hoping commuters will use this three-week period to try out alternative routes between St. Louis and St. Charles Counties. Those include Route 370 and Route 364 (Page Avenue Extension).

The Blanchette Bridge project is scheduled to last for less than a year.

Follow Bill Raack on Twitter: @billraack