During the Aug. 21 solar eclipse, the Jefferson City Police Department will close the pedestrian walkway on the Missouri River Bridge from 12:30-2 p.m. for safety and security reasons.
It's one of the many precautions law enforcement and other agencies are taking as they expect an increase in motorists traveling to and from the central part of the state to view the eclipse, according to a Missouri Department of Transportation news release.
For the most part, MoDOT will suspend construction and maintenance work on major routes in Central Missouri on Aug. 21, with the exception of the following notable closures:
The U.S. 54 bridge over Middle River near Fulton - one westbound lane is closed at the bridge.
The Missouri 100 bridge over Berger Creek near Hermann - completely closed.
The Route O bridge over Crow's Fork near Fulton - completely closed.
The day of the eclipse, MoDOT will have staff on hand to help address traffic incidents, delays and emergency maintenance situations, as well as help law enforcement agencies with traffic control if needed.
MoDOT staff will monitor traffic signals at key interchanges and intersections, such as the Columbia I-70/U.S. 63 Connector, the I-70/U.S. 54 interchange in Kingdom City, and the U.S. 50/63 (Whitton Expressway)/downtown area in Jefferson City.
Trash pickup schedule adjusted
Due to the anticipated increase in traffic and increased solid waste related to the solar eclipse events, Republic Services/Allied Waste is temporarily running residential trash and recycling collection routes starting at 5:30 a.m. and commercial routes starting at 3 a.m. through Aug. 26.
Customers who signed up for telephone notifications will receiving calls advising them of this change. Customers may sign up for notifications at RepublicOnline.com.