The westbound lanes of U.S. 60 at U.S. 65 in Springfield will be closed for up to 33 hours starting at 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 4, the Missouri Department of Transportation said. Two ramps also will be closed for much of the time while a bridge repair crew works round the clock.
The lanes and ramps could remain closed until 4 a.m. Monday, Aug. 6. A detour will send westbound drivers north to turn around through the interchange at U.S. 65 and Sunshine Street.
Drivers are urged to avoid the U.S. 60/65 interchange starting at 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 3, when one westbound lane will be closed in preparation for the complete closing Saturday night. Those who normally drive through the U.S. 60/65 interchange entering or leaving Springfield should find alternate routes between Saturday night and early Monday. Westbound traffic will be reduced to one lane about a mile east of the interchange across from Highland Springs Country Club. Officers from the Springfield Police Department and Missouri Highway and MoDOT workers will be available over the weekend to handle traffic emergencies and backups.
A MoDOT crew must repair the two U.S. 65 bridges over U.S. 60. The girders on each bridge were damaged by an unknown vehicle with a high load. The repair work is being done Saturday night through Monday morning because traffic at the interchange is lighter than any other time of the week. Here’s the schedule:
* One westbound lane of U.S. 60 will be closed at 8 p.m. Friday, with traffic merging into one lane across from Highland Springs Country Club.
* The northbound-to-westbound ramp and the westbound-to-southbound ramp will be closed at times after 8 p.m. Friday and overnight and then closed completely at 7 p.m. Saturday until all lanes of westbound U.S. 60 are reopened. Drivers should go north on U.S. 65 to Sunshine Street and then back south on U.S. 65 to westbound U.S. 60.
* Westbound U.S. 60 traffic and northbound U.S. 65 traffic heading west on U.S. 60 will be detoured north on U.S. 65 to Sunshine Street, through the interchange underneath U.S. 65 and then south on U.S. 65.