MoDOT officials say they’ve completed work on two bridges south of St Joseph on US-59 highway ahead of schedule.

The Cloverdale Bridge and the Gay Branch Bridge located between St. Joseph and Rushville have been closed since March 19 for repairs under MoDOT’s “Safe & Sound” bridge improvement program.

Motorists have been forced to detour around the two bridge projects.

On Thursday they were expected to reopen after just 45 days. The original work estimate was six to eight weeks.

A ribbon-cutting was planned Thursday morning after which the highway was expected to reopen.