Emergency lane closure near Missouri River Bridge

Drivers may see extra traffic delays on the Missouri River bridge Wednesday night into early Thursday morning.

Traffic north of the bridge on the westbound Highway 54/southbound Highway 63 will be reduced to one lane, according to MoDOT.

The closure will last from 7:00 p.m. Wednesday to 6:00 a.m. Thursday.

It is to make unexpected pavement repairs after some concrete panels shifted on the highway.

“Concrete pavement in general will eventually crack or break just under the stress of the traffic and things that are on it,” MoDOT Maintenance Superintendent Mike Belt said. “And usually that doesn’t cause a problem until those panels start to move under traffic. And that’s what’s happened with these.”

If crews did not repair the fix Wednesday, Belt said it could become a hazard to drivers.

“The concrete would continue to break and settle and it could become in essence a pothole, a pretty large pothole at this point,” Belt said. “And concrete edges tend to be a little bit sharp, so then we’ve got broken sharp edges of concrete that traffic would be running over.”

Belt said the pavement break was not caused by the heat like a pavement buckle.