CHESTERFIELD, Mo. (KMOX) — MoDOT officials feel they have a better handle on what went wrong during construction of the westbound I-44 bridge at Shrewsbury.
The department suspended construction on the bridge in November after large cracks started appearing.
MoDOT District Engineer Tom Blair says they recently got the analysis back.
"The report concluded there was enough steel to support traffic, but there wasn't enough to prevent cracking due to weather-related expansion and contraction. Again, the bridge is safe, but the concern is the long-term durability of that westbound bridge.
Updated blueprints to address the problem are expected to be done by the end of March.
So now work on the eastbound bridge will go through mid-summer, and the westbound bridge will be completed in mid-Fall, with follow-up work running through the end of the year.
MoDOT shares updates on I-44 at Shrewsbury project: Updated design for eastbound repairs at end of March; EB bridge construction projected to be complete mid-summer; WB repairs projected mid-fall; Project complete: December 2019. https://t.co/M2HAZhMqVW pic.twitter.com/80t1Cb5qNi
— MoDOT St. Louis Area (@MoDOT_StLouis)
February 1, 2019 During a press conference at MoDOT's office in Chesterfield, officials issued an apology to drivers who have been frustrated by the slow progress of construction in that section of I-44. The project has a $16.6 million budget.
