Truck drivers transporting oversize loads will have to find an alternative route to the Martin Luther King Bridge in crossing the Mississippi River in St. Louis beginning today. 
The bridge will undergo $16 million in improvements, including replacing the steel grid deck underneath the driving surface. These improvements were originally planned to begin on July 6, but were held off until the Missouri Department of Transportation reopened all lanes of the Poplar Street Bridge.
For the next four months, oversize load carriers will have to use an alternate route instead of the bridge which connects St. Louis to East St. Louis, Illinois.
The Illinois Department of Transportation recommends using the Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge, Interstate 70.
According to the Missouri DOT, the bridge handles 40,000 drivers daily, including oversize load carriers.
MLK Bridge is expected to reopen in early to mid-December.
