Dipping temperatures will require MoDOT to close the Route B bridge over the Osage River in Cole County on Thursday night rather than Wednesday evening as planned.
The closure will allow the contractor on the bridge rehabilitation job to lay a new deck on the bridge.
The bridge will be completely closed to traffic from 7 p.m. on Thursday to 5:30 a.m. on Friday.
The closure had originally been scheduled for Wednesday night, but temperatures are expected to fall into the 30s that evening.
The type of concrete being used to make the new bridge deck requires temperatures above 40 degrees to set properly.
Motorists are advised to use the following detours during the one-night only closure:
• Southbound detour- Take Route M east to U. S. 50 east to U.S. 63 south to Missouri 133 south.
• Northbound detour- Take 133 north to 63 north to 50 west to Route M west.
A map showing the detours can be found online at www.modot.org/central.
Signs, as well as MoDOT crew members, will be stationed at each major intersection along Route B to provide detour information to motorists.
The bridge will close after the evening commute on Thursday and open back up to one-lane of traffic before the morning commute on Friday.
Temporary traffic signals at the bridge will continue to guide traffic through the work area.