By BRENT MARTIN and MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
Continued work on the Cook Road bridge will disrupt traffic on I-29 within the city limits of St. Joseph once again.
The Missouri Department of Transportation says both the northbound and southbound lanes of I-29 through St. Joseph will close beginning Tuesday morning at 4 o’clock and remain closed until very early Friday morning.
MoDOT is closing the interstate so Clarkson Construction can demolish the existing bridge deck and then install new beams as well as paint the girders.
This is a 72-hour closure. The detour will take the same route on I-229 as used a month ago. Southbound I-29 traffic must exit at I-29/I-229/U.S. Route 71 (EXIT 56B) and northbound I-29 traffic must exit at the I-229/I-29 (EXIT 43).
Click HERE to view the detour map.
Local traffic will not be able to access I-29 at the following locations:
Northbound I-29 from:
• Route 6 (Frederick Blvd.) – Exit 47
• U.S. Route 36 – northbound Exits 46A & 46B
Southbound I-29 from:
• Business Route 71/US. Route 59 – Exit 53
• U.S. Route 169 (Rochester Rd) – Exit 50
MoDOT says the contractor must close I-29 for the safety of crews and motorists. There will be more closings coming. MoDOT reports this is the second in a series of closures of I-29 that will occur during the project.
Under the project, the Cook Road bridge will be widened with its driving surface replace. St. Joseph has added money to pay for a pedestrian sidewalk to the south side of the bridge which will include decorative fencing and concrete sides. The project is anticipated to be completed by October.
Other future lane closures will likely occur between the hours of 7pm and 7am at various dates. During those times there will be a 12-foot width restriction in place.
Click HERE to learn more about the project.
You can follow Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.