Route 3 bridge near Dupo to open Nov. 30

The Illinois Department of Transportation announced that the bridge on Route 3 near Dupo over the Union Pacific Railroad and Prairie Du Pont Canal overpass will open to all traffic on Friday afternoon, Nov. 30. 

Pictured is the new Canal Bridge on Route 3 between Dupo and Cahokia. (Tammy Taylor photo)

The bridge opening is eight months ahead of the original anticipated opening date.  

 IDOT said single lane closures on both northbound and southbound Route 3 will be necessary during non-peak hours to finish the remaining work.  

The new bridge was initially set to open by Thanksgiving, IDOT official Thomas Borsch said last month, but a cold snap and an issue with the asphalt plant delayed things by one week. 

The road has been closed at that location since August 2011, causing many motorists traveling to downtown St. Louis from Monroe County, Dupo and surrounding areas to use a detour or other alternate route. The road was expected to be closed until August of next year, but Borsch said workers from Keeley & Sons had fortunate weather conditions to speed up the project.

The old Canal Bridge, built in the 1950s, was rated “structurally deficient” in 2009. Cost of the construction project for the new bridge was around $14.5 million.

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Corey Saathoff

Corey is the editor of the Republic-Times. He has worked at the newspaper since 2004, and currently resides in Columbia. He is also the principal singer-songwriter and plays guitar in St. Louis area country-rock band The Trophy Mules.
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