I-44/Highway 65 flyover ramp opens

Northbound Highway 65 traffic has been diverted into one of two southbound lanes at the I-44 interchange, and the northbound Highway 65 bridge is now closed.

The ramp connecting southbound Highway 65 to eastbound I-44 is closed until the new northbound 65 bridge is rebuilt.

The removal of the bridge over I-44 will cause I-44 to shut down at Highway 65 for up to 52 hours July 7–9, according to the Missouri Department of Transportation. I-44 is scheduled to close at 12 a.m. July 7 and reopen by at least 4:30 a.m. July 9.

Relief routes that weekend will take drivers around the project. Those routes include Kearney Street/Route 744, and Glenstone Avenue/Loop 44 between Kearney Street and I-44.

The $25.2 million project is largest the Missouri Department of Transportation has ever undertaken in the Springfield region. It is scheduled for completion in May 2008, but officials expect it could be done by Dec. 1 this year. Columbia-based Emery Sapp & Sons Inc., which is in charge of project infrastructure, earns an additional incentive by completing it early.