Motorists traveling northbound on U.S. 63 in Boone County near Route H should allow additional time to reach their destinations for the remainder of this week.
Crews constructing a new interchange near the Columbia Regional Airport will be setting bridge beams over the northbound travel lanes.
Starting at approximately 8 a.m. today, and if the weather permits, the northbound left lane will close until approximately 3 p.m.
This will allow the contractor to begin setting up equipment in preparation for placing bridge beams over the highway.
On Thursday, the northbound left lane will again close at approximately 8 a.m. to allow the contractor to begin placing the beams.
As each beam is set into place, the contractor will close the second northbound lane to ensure the safety of the motoring public.
"There are four beams that must be set into place one at a time over the northbound lanes," said Charles Sullivan, MoDOT resident engineer. "When the contractor is ready to place a beam, all northbound traffic will be stopped near the work area for about 10 minutes. We'll reopen one lane as soon as it is safe to do so."
Northbound motorists should expect daytime periodic lane closures into the middle of next week as crews continue work on the new bridge structure.
Southbound traffic will not be affected.