ST. LOUIS • The city this morning closed the 18th Street bridge between Chouteau Avenue and Poplar Street to make emergency repairs.
The bridge is expected to be closed for two to three weeks while crews repair an expansion joint that "fell apart" prior to the Fourth of July holiday weekend, said Traffic Commissioner Steve Runde.
Poplar Street also will be closed, meaning drivers will have to take Clark Avenue to 16th Street to get to the multimodal facility, which houses Amtrak and Greyhound bus stations.
Meantime, St. Louis officials are encouraging drivers to take Chouteau to 14th Street to Market to avoid the closure.
The bridge closure, roughly between the Ameren offices and the Union Station parking lot, also forced Metro to reroute four bus lines. Those include the No. 04 Natural Bridge, the No. 41 Lee, the No. 97 Delmar and the No. 70 Grand. Passengers on those lines may face delays.
Ken Leiser covers transportation and aviation for the Post-Dispatch. He blogs on Along for the Ride. On Twitter, follow him @kenleiser and the Business section @postdispatchbiz.
