I-70 work will slow taffic in Boone, Callaway counties

About 39 miles of pavement on I-70 in Callaway and Boone counties is slated for improvement beginning Tuesday.

The project, which will include various stretches of eastbound and westbound I-70 from the St. Charles Road/Lake of the Woods interchange to the Montgomery County line, will require the St. Charles Road/Lake of the Woods overpass and the westbound I-70 on- and off-ramps to be closed for 10 days starting Aug. 14.

Work will begin Tuesday on the 5.4 mile-stretch of eastbound I-70 that runs from the St. Charles Road/Lake of the Woods overpass to the Boone/Callaway county line. The repairs will continue eastbound from Kingdom City to the Callaway/Montgomery county line, about 16 miles. From there the contractor performing the work, Chester Bross Construction of Hannibal, will move to the westbound lanes, repairing the 16 miles between the Callaway/Montgomery county line and Kingdom City.

The work will take place from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. Monday through Friday until early October. Only one lane in each direction will be closed at any time.

As part of the project, the St. Charles Road/Lake of the Woods overpass and the westbound I-70 on and off-ramps will be closed to maintain two lanes of traffic on I-70 at the busy location. One lane of westbound I-70 will be diverted up and over the exit and entrance ramps at the interchange.

The 10-day closure will occur in two phases to allow the interchange to be open on Fridays and Saturdays, peak travel days. The overpass and ramps will close for five days beginning at 6 a.m. Aug. 14 and will reopen at 6 a.m. Aug. 19. They then will close for a second five-day period that runs from 6 a.m. Aug. 21 to 6 a.m. Aug. 26.

The eastbound exit and entrance ramps at St. Charles Road will remain open to provide access to the south side of I-70. Motorists are advised to use either the U.S Route 63/I-70 interchange or Route Z to access the north side of St. Charles Road and Lake of the Woods Road. Maps showing the detours can be found at www.modot.org/central.

"The pavement at the interchange has deteriorated to a point where it can no longer be fixed and needs to be replaced," said Patty Lemongelli, construction and materials engineer for MoDOT's Central District.