(News release) JEFFERSON CITY –The majority of construction work on state routes in Missouri will stop starting Friday, September 1 at noon for the Labor Day holiday weekend.  However, late Friday night into Saturday morning, one active work zone will close the westbound/southbound direction of Interstate 44 and Interstate 55 in downtown St. Louis including the ramp from the Mississippi River Bridge to I-44/I-55 coming into Missouri. There are also many locations across the state where work zones have permanent lane closures and barriers will remain in place this weekend. Construction work across Missouri will resume Tuesday, September 5 at 9 a.m. For the locations of all state work zones, please check MoDOT’s Traveler Information Map.

Travelers should avoid downtown St. Louis between 10 p.m. Friday, September 1 through noon Saturday, September 2. All lanes of westbound I-44 will be closed from the Interstate 70 Stan Musial Mississippi River Bridge through downtown to the I-44/I-55 interchange.  The ramp from the westbound I-64/I-55 Poplar Street Bridge over the Mississippi River to southbound I-44/I-55 will also be closed during this same time. Crews are removing barrier wall and restriping the highway to reopen all lanes that have been closed due to ongoing construction work. Once the lanes reopen at noon September 2, there will not be any other work in this area until Tuesday, September 5.

The Route 65 full closure in Springfield has reopened. Motorists headed to Branson for the holiday weekend will be able to use both directions of Route 65 now that the pavement repairs are complete.