UPDATE, 6:46 a.m. Wednesday | There is a backup at Interstate 470 Westbound to Interstate 435 Westbound as traffic is down to one lane in the area amid bridge repairs.
Drivers are advised to give themselves additional time during their commutes.
ORIGINAL STORY | Traffic jams and longer commutes are a certainty beginning Wednesday as urgent bridge expansion joint replacements begin on Interstate 435 in Kansas City, Missouri.
The work will reduce westbound Interstate 435 to two lanes between Three Trails Crossing and 103rd Street, according to a Missouri Department of Transportation news release.
That lane reduction will be in effect seven days a week and 24 hours a day while workers make the expansion joint replacements.
The lane should reopen Dec. 22, according to the MODOT news release.
But there will be more traffic headaches caused by the project.
One lane on the ramp from southbound I-435 to westbound I-435 will be closed. One lane will be open.
Two lanes on the ramp from westbound I-470 to westbound I-435 will be closed and one lane will remain open, according to the MODOT news release.
The release also states the ramp from southbound U.S. 71 Highway to westbound I-435 will be closed.
If that's not enough, here are more closures: the ramp from northbound I-49 to westbound I-435/470 will be closed as will the ramp from Red Bridge Road to I-435/470.
The ramp from Bannister Road to westbound I-435 will be opened, according to the news release.
MODOT advises drivers to leave early, look for alternate routes and expect "significant traffic impacts"
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