Interstate 70 to St. Louis will be more constricted this summer

The Interstate 70 route between Kansas City and St. Louis, already a test of motorists’ patience, will be even more exasperating this summer.

Bridge work in Saline County has reduced travel in both directions to just one lane, leading the Missouri Department of Transportation to advise drivers to expect heavy congestion, especially during peak travel times on Friday and Sunday afternoons.

Take note, Royals fans planning a trip to see the team take on the Cardinals this weekend.

The cause of the constriction is rehabilitation of the bridges over the Blackwater River near Marshall Junction. More than 26,000 vehicles pass through the corridor every day.

“Delays of up to an hour are possible,” MoDOT said in an advisory, adding that roadside message boards will update estimated travel times.

The agency encouraged cross-state motorists to travel at nonpeak times or to choose an alternate route, such as U.S. 50 to the south or U.S. 36 to the north.

The work is weather-permitting, but the westbound bridge is expected to be completed in mid-August and the eastbound one in mid-October.

Also on I-70 but closer to home, westbound traffic will be switched to the new Manchester Trafficway bridge this weekend. That will close two lanes of westbound I-70 between Manchester and U.S. 40 from 8 p.m. Friday through 7 p.m. Saturday. The ramp from westbound I-70 to U.S. 40 also will be closed.

The old Manchester bridges were built in the 1950s and were part of the earliest interstate construction in western Missouri. In recent years, they have required frequent maintenance and repairs.

The new bridges were built next to and outside the old ones to cause as little disruption to traffic as possible. The old structures eventually will be dismantled.

The project to replace the bridges over Manchester, the Blue River and the nearby rail yard cost $63 million and was funded with state and federal money.

“With more than 500 bridges in Missouri in critical condition, and no funding for replacement in sight, many bridges like Manchester may be faced with complete closure,” MoDOT said in a statement. “This is one of the last remaining large bridge projects funded for Kansas City in the near future.”

The ramp bridge from eastbound I-70 to southbound Interstate 35 in downtown Kansas City was closed in April for emergency repairs. In May, the northbound Missouri 291 bridge over the Missouri River at Sugar Creek was closed for emergency repairs.

The Missouri General Assembly this year considered but did not act on a 2-cent increase in the state gas tax to help with bridge and road repairs. Last August, voters statewide soundly rejected a proposed three-quarter-cent sales tax increase for transportation.

This story was originally published June 11, 2015 at 5:32 PM with the headline "Interstate 70 to St. Louis will be more constricted this summer."