Those accustomed to navigating the infamous I-55 in the city of St. Louis should gear up for a traffic switcheroo. Starting next week, MoDOT will reroute southbound lanes to the northbound side, a move that's making waves from Virginia to River Des Peres. To accommodate bridge rehabilitation work, this change is just the latest in a series of alterations that drivers have been enduring.
Next Thursday, marks the beginning of this new phase, with two lanes of northbound traffic returning to their rightful side following the morning rush. However, about a week later, and in a slightly more convoluted maneuver— on Monday, June 2, the two southbound lanes will shimmy over to join the northbound lanes. Both directions will be forced to cozy up, maintaining two through lanes each on the northbound side, according to MoDOT.
The end game here is to give crews the space they need to tackle the final two bridges on their to-do list: the southbound I-55 bridges that span the Union Pacific tracks and Koeln Avenue. This bit of construction chopsawing is part of a bigger $63 million project, responsible for the upgrade of 13 pairs of bridges in total.
Notably, this grand infrastructure revitalization hit a snag back in October 2023 when a subcontractor's mishap damaged girders on the northbound bridge over the Union Pacific railroad tracks. KCI, the prime contractor in charge since spring of 2022, has been picking up the tab for the additional costs caused by this setback. "The contractor has a vested interest in ensuring work is complete to minimize those damages," MoDOT St. Louis district engineer Tom Blair said. As it stands, despite a contract completion date of May 29, 2025, the project is now expected to wrap up either late this year or swing into early 2026.
Beyond the bridge work, I-55 is simultaneously getting a facelift between I-44 and Lindbergh. Crews are smoothing things over in areas where bridge work is finished, keeping the disturbance to mostly overnight or weekend lane closures.
