Crews began the rehabilitation of the Blanchette Memorial Bridge on Interstate 70 on Feb. 17, and the repairs have been causing severe traffic delays for people wanting to cross the Missouri River.

From 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, two of the current westbound lanes will be closed in preparation for the rehabilitation of the eastbound Blanchette span. On Friday at 8 p.m., the loop ramp from northbound Highway 141 in Earth City to westbound I-70 will close and will be reopened by 5 p.m. on Saturday.

On Saturday, three of the four westbound lanes will be closed most of the day. The Missouri Department of Transportation said that there will also be 10 minute closures of all four westbound lanes. Message boards will alert the drivers.

By Monday, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the number of westbound lanes will be reduced to three and will last until mid-November. The eastbound lanes will be cut to four until November as well.

Most of the work is expected to be completed by November, according to MoDOT. Due to heavy traffic delays, it may be best to take Route 370, Route 364 or Highway 40 (I-64) during peak commuting times.

MoDOT suggest using Highway 370, Highway 364 or Highway 40 (Insterstate 64).

According to MoDOT, the schedule for two consecutive weekends starting March 6 and March 13:

• Veterans Memorial Parkway ramp to eastbound I-70 will be closed until November 2020. The suggested alternative route will be Fifth Street entrance ramp.
• Nighttime closures are possible for the Fifth Street ramp to eastbound I-70. Westbound traffic will return to normal by November 2020.

According to MoDOT, the rehabilitation consists of the replacement of expansion joints, performing steel repairs on the truss and approach spans, and repainting the eastbound bridge. The $33 million project was awarded to KCI Construction Co.