The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) is taking steps to make bridges over this important highway safer and ready for the future.
(MoDOT photo)
Drivers who use I-55 in Missouri can travel from the southeast corner of the state, the "boot heel," drive parallel to the Mississippi River for about 200 miles eventually reaching a bustling section of St. Louis passing such iconic sites as the Anheuser Busch Brewery, the Gateway Arch and the home of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. The freeway crosses the Poplar Street Bridge downtown, merges with I-70 in western Illinois, then splits off to take travelers through farmlands and north toward Chicago.
The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) is taking steps to make bridges over this important highway safer and ready for the future. Working with lead contractor KCI Construction, MoDOT and its team will be fixing the decks on five bridges and replacing the latex overlays in eight other locations. The work team also has demolished a pedestrian bridge north of Reavis Barracks Road. When the work concludes, the construction team will have completed work on 13 pairs of north-south bridges for a total of 26 bridges in all.
The bridge work is under way in an 11-mi. corridor along I-55 between the urban core in southeast St. Louis and continuing to the outer loop bypass (I-270) in the suburbs. In addition, just more than 6 mi. of median barrier will be replaced and upgraded to current standards. The project is targeted to be completed in 2024 and will cost $63 million.
"This work maintains the bridges and keeps them in good structural condition," said Scott Washausen, MoDOT resident engineer of the city of St. Louis area. "Our objective is to take care of the system of roads and bridges so that they will serve the communities well into the future."
Motorists usually don't notice bridges unless they are failing or have become dangerous.
"We wanted to upgrade this vital corridor for the future," said Washausen. "Our work will maintain the bridges and keep them in good structural condition even though the work might go unnoticed. We want to protect the public from failing pavement and unsafe bridges."
Workers stripped some of the bridges down to the girders yet maintained safety for residents and workers. Because of the proximity to local neighborhoods, work crews limited their activity to the daytime. This scheduling did not allow for local traffic on the bridges on the weekends.
This portion of the project will be completed in late 2024.
"We have some resurfacing coming up on this stretch after that, but that contract hasn't been awarded yet," said Washausen.
KCI Construction has had some delicate moments. Workers demolishing some of the bridge decks needed to cut and pick off the demolished material. During the process the construction team had to be certain not to harm the River Des Peres, which flows nearby, or interfere with Grant's Trail, a popular bike path, underneath some of the bridges.
The project required some 30,000 cu. yds. of concrete and about 1,500 tons of steel.
KCI and subcontractors are utilizing a large fleet of cranes, excavators, hydro demolition machines and other equipment to complete the work. There will be as many as eight structures being worked on over several work zones.
"We used ultra-high-performance concrete on the bridge joints," said Washausen. This material is relatively new to our industry and will help prevent joint failures that can create short-notice emergencies for our maintenance team."
As with most highway and bridge projects, staging is key on this project to get the work done right with as little inconvenience to the public as possible.
"By staging all the work at once, we were able to save years of time. Also, we were still able to keep at least two lanes open in each direction. We decided to keep lanes at more than 11.5 feet, even though this meant occasionally sacrificing a third lane. Having wide lanes and maintaining wide shoulders kept the traffic moving along well."
Inconvenience is inevitable during major construction projects like this.
"We had to keep Carondelet Connector, a major bike and pedestrian path, closed for a year while work on the bridge over the Union Pacific railroad was being completed. Still, people were able to get to the major commercial districts, casinos and work without too much difficulty."
The construction team also crafted detours to low-stress roadways to continue construction and give motorists alternative pathways.
Interstate 55 is a major commuting route for people and truck traffic traveling into St. Louis. Washausen summarized the project's successes.
"By bundling all the bridge projects together, we have been able to improve coordination, reduce the impact to the public and reduce costs." CEG
Chuck MacDonald
Chuck MacDonald is an editor, blogger and freelance feature writer whose writing adventures have taken him to 48 states and 10 countries. He has been the editor for magazines on pavement construction, chemicals, insurance and missions. Chuck enjoys bicycling, kayaking and reading. He graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in journalism. Chuck lives in Annapolis, Md. with his wife Kristen. They have seven grandchildren.
Read more from Chuck MacDonald here.
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