An expansion joint on the eastbound bridge of I-44 Eureka had to be repaired in May, and more work will be done on the bridge this summer.
An expansion joint on the eastbound bridge of I-44 Eureka had to be repaired in May, and more work will be done on the bridge this summer.
An emergency bridge repair on eastbound I-44 in Eureka to fix a broken expansion joint was completed May 31, but a large-scale project to repair the interstate’s eastbound and westbound bridge lanes will be starting soon.
“The emergency repair addressed the immediate issue,” said Joe Molinaro, the St. Louis region bridge engineer for the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT). “We actually do have a project for this bridge coming up later this summer.”
He said the repaired expansion joint and a couple of smaller joints will be replaced and a protective driving surface will be added to the eastbound bridge, and the westbound bridge will have patching and sealing on the driving surface. Concrete underneath the bridge also will be patched.
Molinaro couldn’t not say when the work would begin, and he did not know how long the project would last. He also said lanes would be closed throughout the project, but MoDOT expects to keep at least two lanes open during peak travel periods throughout the work.
“It’ll be the same type of joint, but it’ll be a newer joint and with newer concrete in there to last a long amount of time,” he said of the eastbound repair. “Hopefully, we won’t have to be back at this bridge for quite some time (after the project).”
Molinaro said KCI Construction Co. of St. Louis will be paid $8,459,000 for the work. He said KCI was the lower of two bidders.
The right two lanes of the three-lane eastbound bridge were closed May 26 because an expansion joint dropped down a couple inches due to broken and cracked concrete, Molinaro said.
He said there was concern that tires would be damaged because of the uneven lanes.
“That was a concern for us that it could be a safety issue to the traveling public,” Molinaro said. “That’s when we decided to shut down the lanes to start performing the repair work.”
He said the broken and cracked concrete was removed and additional anchors with new concrete was added to the bridge around the expansion joint.
Molinaro said the right two lanes were reopened before midnight on May 27, but the left lane then was closed. That lane reopened at about 7 p.m. May 31.
He said traffic became the most congested the evening of May 27 with vehicles backed up on I-44 from the eastbound bridge that goes over the Meramec River on the east end of Eureka to Six Flags, which is on the west side of Eureka.
Molinaro said the traffic was likely so heavy during the first night of repairs because the St. Louis Cardinals were playing the Milwaukee Brewers in downtown St. Louis.
“It would have been more challenging for motorists to divert and find another route into downtown,” he said. “Saturday (May 28) it was not as bad, I think it was maybe close to a mile backup at worst on Saturday.”
He said the westbound bridge was checked and no emergency repairs were made.
“We identified it did not need immediate attention,” he said.
Molinaro said the eastbound bridge was built in 1954 and the westbound bridge was built in 1968. He said he hopes the repairs will give both bridges 30 more years of life.
Molinaro said the eastbound bridge received a fair condition rating and the westbound bridge received a poor rating in 2015. He said bridges are rated on a three-rating scale of good, fair or poor.
He said all bridges are inspected every two years, and the upcoming project will hopefully raise both bridges’ ratings.