These I-44 bridges in SGF are being demolished soon

SPRINGFIELD, MO - This weekend, thousands of drivers passing through town will find themselves taking detours thanks to a big road construction project.

On Friday night, MoDOT temporarily closed Interstate 44 between Kansas Expressway and West Bypass.  The closure will allow contractors to demolish and remove the Melville Road overpass. The removal of the 1960s era span is part of a series of improvements to rebuild the freeway across the city.   MoDOT says, depending on how the process goes, the I-44 shutdown could wrap up as early as Saturday or as late as 6:00 a.m. Monday

MELVILLE ROAD

This weekend’s closure of I-44 at Mellville Road is part of a multi-phase project to rebuild the freeway from Route 125 in Strafford, across Springfield, and to the interchange with James River Freeway/Route 360 to the west of the city.  

MoDOT says the first main phase of the overall project, which is underway right now, focuses on the segment between U.S. 65 and Kansas Expressway.  The highway is being rebuilt from the ground up and widened from three to six lanes.  There will also be improvements to directional signage and lighting, and sound walls in some spots. Also, both directions of traffic will be separated by a median wall (such as what's in place on U.S. 65 and James River Freeway in the city).

While the Melville bridge is being replaced now, it's located on a stretch of 44 that won't be widened until a later date. However, there are several additional set for removal and replacement on the stretch which is currently being rebuilt.

BROADWAY, GRANT, NATIONAL AVENUES

Transportation officials say the 1960s-era bridges carrying the highway over Broadway Ave., Grant Ave., and National Avenue need to be replaced to handle the widened highway.   Those parts of the project will also entail similar closures for demolition, but will require a more complex traffic pattern change and long-term lane shifts since those spans carry the lanes of the interstate.  

Bridges carrying U.S. 65 over I-44 do not have to be replaced since new spans at that location have already been constructed in recent years.  

KANSAS EXPRESSWAY

A second phase of the project will rebuild the location where Kansas Expressway crosses the interstate.  Plans call for the replacement of the overpasses, reconfiguring some of the ramps at the interchange, and constructing a flyover ramp carrying southbound traffic to eastbound traffic.  That portion of the project will start in 2027.

DIVISION STREET 

In the coming years, the overpass carrying Division Street/Route EE over I-44 will also be rebuilt in preparation for the eventual widening of the freeway on that stretch.  Other spans needing to be replaced or rebuilt on that segment include those carrying 44 over Kearney St., and those spanning the BNSF Railway mainline.  Bridges at West Bypass and Route MM have already been rebuilt in recent years.