Rest of old St. Louis-area canal bridge to be demolished

GRANITE CITY, Ill. (AP) - The last of two bridges that until recently carried Interstate 270 traffic just north of St. Louis will become history next week.

The Illinois Department of Transportation tells the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (http://bit.ly/1DcRfV5) the Chain of Rocks Canal Bridge's old westbound span is to be demolished Tuesday.

The eastbound lanes were blasted out on Jan. 20.

As a precaution, traffic in both directions of the replacement I-270 bridge will be closed for roughly two hours beginning at 10 a.m. Tuesday. Westbound traffic during that time will be diverted to Illinois Route 3, and eastbound traffic will be directed to exit at St. Louis' Riverview Boulevard.

The I-270 stretch carries nearly 55,000 vehicles a day.

The canal is a channel used by barge traffic to bypass rocky Mississippi River shallows.

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Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com