BOONE COUNTY - Beginning in early March 2010, construction crews will begin work to replace the Route 40 bridge deck over Interstate 70 in Boone County. Today, the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission approved a contract for the work, which is expected to last through late June. 

All Type Excavating Inc./DBA L. Krupp Construction, Inc. of Ellisville, Mo. was awarded the contract after submitting the lowest bid of $738,151.

The bridge will close during construction, but ramps to and from I-70 will remain open. The contractor can begin the project at any time between early March and late June. Once the bridge has been closed, the work requiring the closure must be completed within 30 days. Traffic will be detoured around the bridge using I-70.

The repair work on the Route 40 bridge is a part of the Missouri Department of Transportation's Safe & Sound Bridge Improvement Program developed to improve more than 800 bridges across Missouri in five years. Work to improve bridges included in the program started in 2009. Ninety bridges will be replaced or repaired in mid-Missouri as part of this program. 

For more information about this project, please call 1-888-ASK-MoDOT (275-6636) or log onto www.modot.org/central for a complete listing of bridges included in the Safe & Sound Bridge Improvement Program.