Two eastbound lanes of Poplar Street Bridge reopen after morning closure

Crews have reopened two eastbound Poplar Street Bridge lanes, which were closed earlier on Tuesday, the Missouri Department of Transportation said.

MoDOT spokesman Andrew Gates said the lanes were reopened at about 2:25 p.m. after a bridge crew conducting a bridge inspection completed its work.

Gates said workers could have taken advantage of the inspection to take care of some bridge work, but he couldn’t confirm if additional work took place.

The inspection on the eastbound lanes come just weeks after final repairs and road work to the westbound lanes, including construction of a two-lane exit ramp off the bridge leading to southbound Interstate 55 and westbound Interstate 44. That work has eased traffic delays for Illinois motorists heading to St. Louis, since traffic for two major interstates no longer has to funnel into a one-lane ramp off the bridge.

This story was originally published August 11, 2015 at 6:52 AM with the headline "Two eastbound lanes of Poplar Street Bridge reopen after morning closure."