ST. LOUIS - The Missouri Department of Transportation and its contractor Fred Weber Inc. will break ground on the construction of a diverging diamond interchange at Interstate 270 and Dorsett Road on Friday, November 13, 2009, at 2:30 p.m.

The ceremony will take place at the northwest corner of Old Dorsett and Dorsett Road. The public and media are invited, and can park in the Syberg's/Best Western parking lot located just east of the ceremony location.

Crews will begin construction in January 2010 or earlier, depending on the completion of the I-64 project. This project is expected to be completed by winter 2010. Dorsett will remain open during construction. A temporary bridge will be built to carry I-270 traffic.

The diverging diamond interchange is an interchange style new to North America. MoDOT built the first ever DDI in the nation in Springfield, Missouri this summer. The Dorsett diverging diamond interchange will be the first of its kind in the St. Louis region. The diverging diamond interchange carries heavy traffic volume, and allows motorists to make free left turns, meaning vehicles don't cross opposing traffic. It also decreases congestion and is cheaper to construct than other types of interchanges.

The I-270 Dorsett/Page Project also includes construction of a northbound I-270 dual lane flyover ramp to westbound Route 364 (Page Avenue). Construction will start in spring 2010. The Page project is expected to be completed by winter 2011.

Improvements also include bridge rehabilitation work at the Marine Avenue overpass on I-270. This work is scheduled to begin in spring 2010.

Funding partners for this project includes St. Louis County, the city of Maryland Heights, Edward Jones, the Missouri Department of Economic Development, and MoDOT.

The city of Maryland Heights is scheduled to open bids next month for the relocation of Progress Parkway, located east of the Dorsett interchange. This project will be constructed concurrently with the Dorsett diverging diamond interchange.

More information about the I-270 and Dorsett/Page project can be found at:

http://www.modot.org/stlouis/major_projects/I-270andDorsettInterchangeProject.htm

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