A sinkhole has forced the closure of westbound James River Freeway (U.S. Highway 60) between U.S. Highway 65 and Glenstone Avenue — with repairs expected to take several days, the Missouri Department of Transportation announced late Thursday.
The sinkhole opened Thursday along the shoulder of the westbound lanes, KY3 reported.
In addition to the closure of westbound lanes between 65 and Glenstone, drivers will find that both northbound and southbound Hwy. 65 exits to James River Freeway are closed.
The hole extends three full traffic lanes in length, or about 36 feet, and 15 feet wide, Laurel McKean, MoDOT Assistant District Engineer, said by phone. The plan is to drill holes in the highway lane and then fill the empty space with concrete to stabilize it, McKean said.
“Right now, we're just in the mode of trying to get what's opened filled so we can get the road stable, safe, get traffic back on,” McKean said.
It will be sometime next week before engineers can assess the extent of the underground damage to the highway.
“We're hoping that the bottom doesn't fall out because we can't get in to explore it very well,” McKean said.
During peak commuter hours Friday morning, traffic backups extended as far south as the Fremont Hills exit off of U.S. Highway 65 in Ozark. James River Freeway will be closed until further notice, with no new updates as of 9 a.m., Regan Mitchell, MoDOT intermediate communications specialist, said by phone Friday.
