Rehabilitation of the westbound Interstate 44 bridge over the Gasconade River Overflow will begin on Tuesday, June 8th

Rehabilitation of the westbound Interstate 44 bridge over the Gasconade River Overflow, located west of the Pulaski County line, will begin on Tuesday, June 8th. The project consists of repairing the bridge railings, bents and piers, and painting the structural steel. The work will take place during the daytime hours and will require one westbound lane to be closed 24 hours a day through the duration of the work. Drivers may experience traffic delays in the work area and should allow extra time to reach their destination. All drivers are encouraged to use the zipper merge technique on the approach to the work zone, which means using both lanes all the way to the merge point, then taking turns to merge into the open lane. When motorists use both lanes of traffic until reaching the defined merge area and then alternate in a “zipper” fashion into the open lane, the overall length of the traffic backup could be reduced by 40 to 50 percent. More information about the zipper merge can be found at modot.org/zipper-merge. The project is expected to be complete by late July. This bridge is included in Gov. Mike Parson’s $351 million Focus on Bridges program, which will repair or replace 250 bridges across the state.