Traffic Alert! INTERSTATE 44 SOUTHWEST MISSOURI

MORE CLOSURES COMING - Phase 1, This weekend, thousands of drivers passing through town will find themselves taking detours thanks to a big road construction project.

On Friday night, MoDOT temporarily closed Interstate 44 between Kansas Expressway and West Bypass. The closure will allow contractors to demolish and remove the Melville Road overpass. The removal of the 1960s era span is part of a series of improvements to rebuild the freeway across the city. MoDOT says, depending on how the process goes, the I-44 shutdown could wrap up as early as Saturday or as late as 6:00 a.m. Monday.

This weekend’s closure of I-44 at Mellville Road is part of a multi-phase project to rebuild the freeway from Route 125 in Strafford, across Springfield, and to the interchange with James River Freeway/Route 360 to the west of the city.

It's going to suck for a very long time.