The Missouri Department of Transportation announced the reopening of a busy Missouri-River bridge in Jefferson City.

The westbound Route 54 / 63 bridge is slated to reopen November 14, after being closed more than six months.

Officials say the bridge was closed for painting and other repairs, and was expected to open to traffic by the end of August. Unforeseen structural work kept that from happening.

More specifically, the blasting process used to remove the old paint on the bridge revealed a larger number of deteriorated rivets needing to be replaced, so MoDOT extended its contract with Saffo, Inc., to repair the rivets and perform other structural repairs.

“While we’re not happy we had to keep the bridge closed for longer than planned, we’re glad to be able to pinpoint a date for the bridge to reopen,” said MoDOT Central District Engineer David Silvester. “Nov. 14 is still some weeks off, but at least we can see a light at the end of the tunnel.”

He added: “We want to thank everyone for their patience and understanding during this time. We know this work has been an inconvenience for many folks.”

Silvester asked commuters to continue to avoid peak travel times on the bridge for the next several weeks to cut down on congestion and the potential for crashes. He also urged drivers to slow down and pay attention as they approach and cross the bridge.

Despite the project delay, Silvester said he was pleased with the contractor’s work.

“Saffo is providing a quality product at a very reasonable price,” Silvester said. “This investment will allow us to get another 20-30 years of service out of the bridge. Without routine maintenance, we’d eventually have to replace the bridge at an estimated cost of $100 million. That’s money we certainly don’t have.”

The bridge was built in 1955 and carries about 28,000 vehicles a day.