Major delays expected at National, James River

The Missouri Department of Transportation is warning drivers that the area near the National Avenue-James River Freeway intersection will bring travel delays starting Thursday evening.

Work is ongoing on the $9.7 million diverging-diamond interchange project at the intersection, but a traffic-pattern change starting Thursday night will reduce southbound traffic to one lane south of Primrose Street, next to Cox South hospital. The change will be in place until some time next spring.

Workers will be beginning work on an underpass and service road underneath National, necessitating the traffic shift.

MoDOT says that the hospital and other businesses in the National Avenue corridor will be accessible, though reaching them may take longer than usual. Drivers who commute through the area, however, are encouraged to find a different route.

The project includes reconfiguring and widening the National Avenue bridge into a diverging diamond interchange over the freeway, adding auxiliary lanes on the freeway between National and Campbell avenues, and building an underpass and service road to connect CoxHealth facilities on both sides of National north of the bridge.