Off to a smooth start

Early back up causes about 15-minute delay for commuters

Traffic appeared to move smoothly both into and out of Jefferson City on Monday morning at the now two-way eastbound Route 54/63 Missouri River bridge. The westbound bridge was closed Saturday evening for an expected 120 days during which time it is to be repainted and have any other necessary maintenance performed.
Traffic appeared to move smoothly both into and out of Jefferson City on Monday morning at the now two-way eastbound Route 54/63 Missouri River bridge. The westbound bridge was closed Saturday evening for an expected 120 days during which time it is to be repainted and have any other necessary maintenance performed.

Commuters apparently heeded the advice of state transportation officials and law enforcement in adjusting their travel times and being patient with the start of rehab work on the westbound Missouri River Bridge.

“Overall, we think things went very smoothly Monday morning, as well as over the weekend,” said MoDOT spokeswoman Sally Oxenhandler. “We saw an increase in traffic earlier than usual Monday morning, so we could tell that people had planned ahead and altered their morning drive times.”

Oxenhandler said there were some delays, but they expected that. The longest delays occurred between 7:15 a.m. and 8 a.m. when traffic was backed up about two miles on both U.S. 54 and U.S. 63 heading into Jefferson City. The traffic backups amounted to about a 10- to 15-minute delay for motorists. U.S. 54 was moving freely by 8:15 a.m. and U.S. 63 by 8:30 a.m.

“We were pleased there were no accidents during the morning rush,” Oxenshandler said. “Because traffic does move slowly through the work zone, we remind drivers to drive with caution, pay attention and keep their eyes on the road.”

Once the westbound bridge was closed Saturday night to all traffic, the eastbound bridge began carrying traffic with two lanes going eastbound and two lanes going westbound.

Most drivers on various social media sites said their drive time to work was hardly affected by the bridge closure.

Stan Perkins, an Office of Administration employee who comes into work from Callaway County on Missouri 94, said it took him about 20 minutes longer than normal driving into work Monday, but he has a plan that he said will save him time during the bridge closure.

Depending on weather conditions, Perkins plans to drive part of the way and then bike the rest of the way to work using the bike/pedestrian bridge.

“I turn onto Wehmeyer Road and go to the commuter lots by the airport,” he said “If those are full, I could go across the Route W overpass and go and park in those commuter lots or the lot at the Noren River Access. It would also work for people coming from Columbia on 63 if they crossed the overpass where 63 turns into 94 instead of normally taking the exit into town going over the bridge.”

MoDOT has been working with law enforcement on an incident management plan to ensure smooth traffic flow on both state routes and city streets during the closure. Authorities Monday said they were cautiously optimistic after the results of the first day of the closure.

Some painting and repair work will continue once the westbound bridge reopens in August. That work will require intermittent lane closures on the bridge through the fall.

“This work, though inconvenient, will allow us to properly maintain one of our most valuable assets and investments,” said Patty Lemongelli, construction and materials engineer at MoDOT’s Central District Office. “If not properly maintained, this bridge would cost $100 million to replace.”

The westbound bridge, built in 1955, carries about 28,000 vehicles a day.

Saffo Contractors Inc. of Wilmington, North Carolina, is the contractor on the $7 million project.

More information on the project, including the option to sign up for email updates, is available online at modot.org/central or by calling 1-888-ASK-MoDOT (275-6636).