The Grand Boulevard Bridge in Midtown St. Louis is now closed for a planned 15- month renovation.
As part of the major construction project, the 52-year-old bridge will be completely removed and replaced. The new bridge will have wider sidewalks and a dedicated bike lane.
Rich Bradley, chief engineer for the city of St. Louis, says the main detours are Compton, Vandeventer and Jefferson.
"The big message that we want to put out there is that the I-64 ramps, which are on the north side of the bridge, will remain open throughout the course of the construction," Bradley said. "So if you could get to I-64 from the east or west you can get off at Grand and go north."
The total cost of the project is estimated to be $22 million. Federal funds are covering 80 percent of that.
"To seismic retrofit the bridge and bring it up to today's earthquake compliance would cost just about as much as doing a complete removal and replacement," Bradley said. "So, we're actually going to remove the existing structure all the way down and we're going to build a brand new structure in its place."
The project also includes upgrades to the MetroLink stop below the bridge, including two new elevators, a new staircase, a better-lit platform, and a covered shelter.
