
The St. Louis County Department of Transportation and Public Works closed the Bayless Avenue bridge over Gravois Creek Monday due to unsafe road conditions.
Replacement of the bridge began in September 2024, with half of the structure left in place to allow traffic, while the other half was demolished and rebuilt. However, the rapidly deteriorating pavement on the bridge’s deck prompted county engineers to fully close the bridge.
“The driving surface of that half of the bridge that remained open to traffic significantly deteriorated in recent weeks,” Stephanie Leon Streeter, director of transportation and public works, stated in a press release “Patching did little to stabilize the increasingly degraded pavement. We’ve reached the point where a full closure is unavoidable.”
As approximately 15,000 vehicles travel this stretch of Bayless on a typical weekday, the bridge’s closure will be felt.
The new bridge is expected to be completed by summer 2025. Drivers are advised to use the marked detour along Lemay Ferry Road, Reavis Barracks Road and Union Road to get around the closure.