Sinkhole forces Interstate 55 Bates Street off-ramp closing
ST. LOUIS – The Bates Street off-ramp of Interstate 55 was closed off Monday after a sinkhole was discovered.
The closure comes in an area where MoDOT already had an active construction zone. Drivers traveling south on I-55 are reminded to use the 4500 S Broadway or Loughborough exits as an alternative.
“We are working on bridges on I-55,” Jen Wade, MoDOT area engineer in St. Louis, said. “We just ask that drivers use caution when they’re going through the area.”
Some residents say the closure coincides with detours from ongoing bridge work.
“We’re losing all of our entrances and exits so it’s kind of frustrating,” Gabriel Stevens, St. Louis resident, said.
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“We already have the other exits around it being blocked off from construction so it would be nice if one of them gets taken care of quickly,” Tyler Crowley, St. Louis resident, said.
Wade said MoDOT maintenance teams, crews from the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District, the City of St. Louis Street Department and several utilities examined the sinkhole. While it’s not expected to be a long-term closure, it is not clear when the ramp will re-open.
“We’re trying to figure out where the problem came from and what caused it so we know how we can fix it,” Wade said.
The hole on the surface appeared to be approximately the size of a manhole cover but was discovered to be much larger underneath. Wade estimated the hole under the surface was approximately 40 to 50 feet in length and four feet wide.
The sinkhole affects one lane of the ramp, but the entire ramp will remain closed as crews need access to the other lane while making repairs.
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