Route 248 Bridge over Route 65 CLOSED Weekend of Nov. 18-20<\/p>\n
* Bridge in Branson to Close Friday Morning, Nov. 18, and Reopen Monday, Nov. 21, in Diverging Diamond Configuration *<\/p>\n
Web site with DDI animation — http:\/\/www.modot.org\/southwest\/major_projects\/Greene\/I-44andRoute13.html<\/a><\/p>\n Branson, Taney County — The Route 248 bridge over Route 65 in Branson will be CLOSED at 9 a.m. Friday, Nov. 18, and may remain closed into early Monday, Nov. 21, the Missouri Department of Transportation said.<\/p>\n When the bridge is reopened late Sunday or by 6 a.m. Monday at the latest, the bridge will be in the new Diverging Diamond Interchange traffic pattern. That means cars will criss-cross at traffic signals at the end of the bridge and drive across the bridge on the left-hand side, allowing for smoother and safer left turns onto Route 65.<\/p>\n Traffic Impacts During the Bridge Closing<\/strong><\/p>\n The ramps at the Route 248\/65 interchange will remain open over the weekend. However, drivers can make only right turns from the Route 65 ramps onto Route 248 or from Route 248 onto Route 65. <\/p>\n Drivers will NOT be able to turn left onto or off of Route 248. No traffic will be allowed to cross the Route 248 bridge. <\/p>\n Drivers are urged to use the Route 65\/Branson Hills Parkway interchange north of Route 248 or the Route 65\/Route 76 interchange south of Route 248 to reach their destinations. <\/p>\n Accommodations have been made to allow emergency vehicles to travel across the bridge when responding to emergencies.<\/p>\n Work During the Closing<\/strong><\/p>\n While the bridge is closed, contractor crews will install:<\/p>\n * Pavement markings to direct drivers through the interchange once it reopens.<\/p>\n * Traffic signals and lighting.<\/p>\n * Concrete islands that will help shift traffic into the correct lanes to drive across the bridge in the new configuration.<\/p>\n New Traffic Pattern When Route 248 Bridge Reopens This configuration will provide left-turning vehicles on Route 248 a “free left” onto Route 65. At the same time, traffic continuing east or west on Route 248 will be able to travel through the interchange without being stopped due to a back up of left-turning traffic.<\/p>\n Signs, pavement markings and concrete islands will clearly guide drivers and help prevent making a wrong turn into the opposing lanes.<\/p>\n Right-angle crashes involving left-turning vehicles from Route 248 to Route 65 should be eliminated and rear-end crashes should be reduced.<\/p>\n Three other Diverging Diamond Interchanges are in use in Missouri: Two in Springfield at Kansas Expressway\/I-44 (opened in 2008) and at National Avenue\/Route 60 (opened in 2009) and one in St. Louis at Dorsett Road and I-270 (opened in 2009). Two other diverging diamond interchanges are under construction in the Kansas City area. <\/p>\n Project Background<\/strong><\/p>\n * Widen the Route 248 bridge by 10-feet to allow for three lanes across the bridge when the project is complete; two lanes eastbound and one lane westbound <\/p>\n * Repair the existing Route 248 bridge and resurface the bridge deck<\/p>\n * Widen the southbound ramp at the interchange to include dual right- and dual left-turn lanes from Route 65 onto Route 248<\/p>\n * Install new traffic signals and street lighting at the interchange<\/p>\n The $5 million dollar project, a partnership with the city of Branson, will convert the interchange into a diverging diamond, widen the Route 248 bridge and repair the existing bridge deck and widen the ramps leading off of and onto Route 65.<\/p>\n The prime contractor on the project is APAC-Missouri of Columbia, doing the work for a low bid amount of $5 million. The project is scheduled for completion by December 19, 2011.<\/p>\n END<\/p>\n (For more information, call MoDOT toll-free at 888.275.6636 or 417.895.7600. Or visit www.modot.org\/southwest<\/a><\/p>\n (Follow MoDOT’s Southwest District: www.facebook.com\/MoDOT.Southwest<\/a> or www.twitter.com\/MoDOT_Southwest<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Route 248 Bridge over Route 65 CLOSED Weekend of Nov. 18-20 * Bridge in Branson to Close Friday Morning, Nov. 18, and Reopen Monday, Nov. 21, in Diverging Diamond Configuration * Web site with DDI animation — http:\/\/www.modot.org\/southwest\/major_projects\/Greene\/I-44andRoute13.html Branson, Taney County — The Route 248 bridge over Route 65 in Branson will be CLOSED at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes"},"categories":[12,16,11,21,6,13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/broadcast.branson.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20021"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/broadcast.branson.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/broadcast.branson.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/broadcast.branson.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/broadcast.branson.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20021"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/broadcast.branson.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20021\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/broadcast.branson.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/broadcast.branson.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/broadcast.branson.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nUnder the Diverging Diamond Interchange design, the opposing lanes of Route 248 will criss-cross at traffic signals at the ends of the bridge over Route 65. Crossing the bridge, oncoming traffic will be on the right. Opposing lanes will be divided by a concrete barrier, with a pedestrian walkway in between the walls.<\/p>\n