The perpetual long lines to get into the one lane that carried traffic from the Poplar Street Bridge to both southbound Interstate 55 and westbound Interstate 44 may be coming to an end, but not until mid-2015.
Poplar St. Bridge detour routes beginning May 27, 2014 and lasting approximately one year / Image courtesy of the Missouri Department of Transportation
Construction will begin on the bridge will begin overnight Tuesday, with the ramps closed by the morning of Wednesday, May 28. The construction will end in mid-2015.
The ramp will become two lanes and the hairpin turn widened. The right lane of the bridge will also be closed, as well as the ramp to Memorial/Walnut.
There will be additional lane closures on the bridge at night and outside of rush hours as needed.
For drivers traveling from Illinois, The Martin Luther King Jr. Bridge is one detour option, until it is temporarily closed in the fall of 2014. The Eads Bridge and the new Stan the Span are other detour options for those wanting to avoid the PSB all together. Otherwise, the 9th Street exit from the PSB can be used as a detour.
In addition to these closures, the Illinois Department of Transportation will close the Martin Luther King Jr. Bridge in the fall of 2014. It will remain closed until the spring of 2015. This closure is so IDOT can resurface the bridge.
