Updated March 29 with information about blasting and bumped up for visibility.
Planning to take Interstate 64 through the Central West End this weekend? You'll need to find another route.
Weather permitting, the Missouri Department of Transportation will be shutting down the highway in both directions between Hampton and Forest Park Parkway starting Friday night at 8 p.m. The closures are the second of three that will be needed for an $18 million infrastructure project that includes four new bridges and a new interchange.
(View the detour route here)
In addition to the highway closure, ramps from McCausland/Skinker, Hampton and Kingshighway onto eastbound I-64, and from Pine, Jefferson, Market and Grand onto westbound 64 will also be shut down.
If you live in the area, expect some loud booms early Saturday morning as crews blast through bedrock to construct a utility trench. The blasting work will take place between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m.
"Since the work is underground, we do not anticipate that there will be much to see during the blasting," said MoDOT engineer Deanna Venker, adding that the department is asking people to stay away from the construction zone.
MoDOT hopes to re-open all lanes and ramps by 3 a.m. Monday.
And over in Illinois, a two-mile stretch of Interstate 255 between Collinsville and Horseshoe Lake roads will remain down to one lane so crews can make pavement repairs. Those restrictions are in place until late fall.
Follow Rachel Lippmann on Twitter: @rlippmann
