Interstate 44 is scheduled to be closed at Route 65 in Springfield (Mile Marker 82) for up to 52 hours the weekend of July 7-9, the Missouri Department of Transportation said.
A bridge over I-44 must be taken down and removed over the weekend. It will be replaced over the next several months as part of an interchange reconstruction project.
Other state routes through Springfield will be used as relief routes to guide traffic around the project. These include Kearney Street (Route 744) and Glenstone Avenue (Loop 44) between Kearney Street and I-44.
Traffic also may be shifted at times off of I-44 or Route 65 to West Bypass (Route 160), Chestnut Expressway (Loop 44/Business 65) and Kansas Expressway (Route 13).
I-44 is scheduled to be closed at Route 65 at 12 a.m. Saturday, July 7. The contractor doing the work must reopen I-44 by 4:30 a.m. Monday, July 9.
However, MoDOT and its prime contractor on the job, Emery Sapp and Sons of Columbia, are working together to try to reopen I-44 much earlier than the Monday morning deadline.