Jon Holden | Reporter
Friday, July 22; 4 p.m.

Three road closures along Interstate 70 at Fairgrounds Road are set for this weekend in St. Charles, according to the Missouri Department of Transportation.

Jim Wright, a MODOT engineer for St. Charles County, said the closures are part of a project to relieve congestion by building a divergent diamond interchange at the Fifth Street exit.

“The vast majority of the traffic (on Fifth Street) is turning left on I-70, and the divergent diamond interchange will relieve that traffic,” he said.

At 11 p.m. Friday, up to three lanes will be closed on eastbound I-70 at Highway 94. MODOT crews will be moving girders for the new Fairgrounds bridge. All lanes are expected to open back up by 8 a.m. Saturday.

Construction will then begin again at 11 p.m. Saturday, when up to three lanes will be closed on westbound I-70 and two lanes eastbound as construction crews swing the girders across the interstate. Those lanes are expected to open back up at 8 a.m. Sunday.

On Monday, the new eastbound 1-70 exit will open at Fairgrounds Road, and the eastbound exit to Fifth Street will close. Drivers will be exit at Fairgrounds, then proceed on Veterans Memorial Parkway to get to Fifth Street.

Nighttime closures are expected to take place on both eastbound and westbound I-70 from Wednesday to Aug. 1. More details on those closures will be released next week.