MoDOT officials believe all the work to get both the Missouri River bridges in Jefferson City fully reopened to three lanes of traffic should occur sometime today, which would beat the previous scheduled deadline of 6 a.m. Monday.
"The good weather has helped us," said Patty Lemongelli, MoDOT Central District construction and materials engineer.
The contractor - Saffo Inc., of Wilmington, North Carolina - sandblasted old paint, replaced rusty rivets with bolts and then repainted the westbound bridge, both over and under the driving surface. MoDOT officials said the repairs should make the bridge a safe structure for another 20 to 30 years.
The bridge was erected in 1954 and was closed May 1 for the current project. It was reopened to traffic around 9 p.m. Friday.
"It didn't take much to reopen that bridge," Lemongelli said. "The main work was re-striping the crossovers."
Since the westbound bridge closed, all traffic has been using the newest bridge, opened in 1991, that normally carries the eastbound traffic on U.S. 54 and 63.
Friday night, eastbound traffic was reduced to one lane to allow workers to take down the concrete barrier separating the lanes, remove the temporary striping and place new pavement markings.
"We anticipated drivers would experience delays and congestion, and that's what we saw today (Saturday)," Lemongelli said. "Late in the morning and into the noon hour, traffic was backed up toward Ellis. The striping removal was slow, and once that work was done, we could start putting down the permanent striping. With the start of deer season and an MU Tiger home football game in Columbia, there were a number of factors that created traffic congestion, especially with just one lane open. I feel what we said would happen did, and it was nothing we couldn't manage."
Originally planned for 120 days, the westbound bridge closing was extended in July because the contractor found more rivets to replace than originally expected.
The environmental regulations required the sandblasting and painting be done in an enclosed space, with all the materials used to be recovered, filtered and used again.
The most complicated part, MoDOT officials said, was identifying between 6,000 and 7,000 worrisome rivets, then removing them and replacing them with heavy bolts.
The bridge originally was erected only using rivets to hold the steel structure together.
Lemongelli said the painting project was slowed as more rivets were found that needed to be replaced.
That extra work required adjustments to the contract and an additional cost, raising the original price tag from $7 million to $7.5 million.
Saffo doesn't face penalties unless the westbound bridge isn't open by that 6 a.m. Monday deadline, she said.
After Monday, drivers may experience some single-lane closures on the westbound bridge during non-peak hours.
"It's been quite the eye opener and journey," Lemongelli said. "Everybody has been patient with this project. I think to rely on one bridge gives you a greater appreciation for what we do have. Having things back to normal with two bridges will be a good thing."