I-70 bridge work completed Thursday

A bridge project affecting thousands of drivers wrapped up in Boone County Thursday night.

Two expansion joints on the eastbound I-70 river bridge near Rocheport were fixed around 6:45 p.m. and all lanes of traffic were back open.

Missouri Department of Transportation officials had first planned on reopening the bridge Thursday when they thought only one expansion joint would need to be replaced. On Wednesday, as a safety precaution, they decided to replace the expansion joint in the left lane of the eastbound bridge as well and thought construction could take until Saturday.

“We want to thank motorists for their care and patience crossing the eastbound bridge this past week,” said MoDOT Central District Engineer David Silvester. “We know this closure added time to their travels.”

According to MoDOT, the nearly 60-year-old bridge carries about 34,000 vehicles per day in both directions. Trucks make up 24 percent of the traffic.

The bridge is set to be painted and rehabilitated in either late 2018 or early 2019.