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Blanchette Bridge Renovations
I-70 Missouri River Bridge (Blanchette Bridge)
Connecting St. Charles and St. Louis Counties
Westbound Blanchette Bridge Schedule
The $63 million rehabilitation of the westbound Interstate 70 Missouri River Bridge (Blanchette Bridge) will close and detour traffic starting late fall 2012.
Walsh Construction Company plans to close the westbound I-70 Blanchette Bridge and shift lanes to the eastbound bridge starting late fall 2012, and no earlier than November 1. The work will take less than one year. An exact date for the closure is contingent on the manufacturing of steel for the new truss and approach spans. Weather at that time of year could also affect the exact closure date.
Westbound I-70 bridge over the Missouri River was built in the late 1950s. It is in serious need of major repairs. Major river crossings are designed to last 100 years with a major overall needed at 50 years. Without major repairs, the bridge will continue to fall into disrepair and emergency repairs will be required at more frequent internals with longer traffic closures. These repairs will become increasingly more expensive.
Rehabilitation Plans
The westbound I-70 Blanchette Bridge includes a total of 23 spans. Of those, the main three spans over the Missouri River have the overhead steel truss.
The rehabilitation of the Westbound I-70 Bridge will include:
Removal and replacement of the existing truss spans with new trusses.
Replacement of the complete driving surface, edge barrier walls and all expansion joints
Elimination of the three spans nearest to the St. Louis County end and their conversion to roadway on embankment
Repair all remaining concrete substructure units including replacement of some parts
Complete replacement of the structural steel in the first nine spans of the bridge on the St. Charles County side
Repair of the structural steel components of the long girder spans and the truss spans
Repainting of all existing structural steel
Traffic Impacts
Construction work will begin early summer 2012 with off peak lane closures. The contractor plans to close the westbound bridge in late fall 2012, no earlier than November 1. It will remain closed for less than one year. During the closure, the eastbound I-70 bridge will have three lanes of traffic for each direction. Route 370 and Route 364 will serve as the major alternate routes to cross the Missouri River.
This image also shows all ramps at Fifth Street will be open except for the ramp from northbound Fifth Street to eastbound I-70. This ramp does not have enough room to merge traffic into the condensed lanes of three in each direction on the bridge. Northbound Fifth Street traffic will have a signed detour on Veterans Memorial to Route 94 to access eastbound I-70.
Route 370 Temporary Bike Lane Closure
MoDOT closed the bike lane on the Route 370 Missouri River bridge in November 2011. The Route 370 bridge is restriped to add a fourth lane on 370 between Earth City Expressway and Route 94. The extra lane will help traffic during the closure of the westbound I-70 bridge. The fourth lane on Route 370 will be removed in 2014 and the bike lane will be restriped. During the closure, cyclists should use Route 364 Page Avenue to cross the Missouri River. A detour map showing how to get from Route 370 to Route 94 is attached.
