Missouri: I-70 Improvement Plan

A New I-70 Will Showcase the “Show Me” State   

Challenge: Not since the 1985 World Series between the Kansas City Royals and the St. Louis Cardinals – affectionately dubbed the “I-70 Showdown Series” – has this 250-mile stretch of highway bisecting Missouri garnered so much attention. I-70, an indispensable engine of economic growth for more than a half-century, hasn’t undergone a major widening since it opened in 1956. As a result, driving with just two lanes from St. Louis to Columbia and on to the Kansas City Metropolitan Area and back gives motorists a definite “parking lot” feeling.  

Solution: After decades of debate in Jefferson City, the Missouri legislature last year approved spending $2.8 billion to expand I-70 to add a third lane in each direction for nearly 200 miles from Blue Springs in the Kansas City area to Wentzville in the St. Louis area. With the additional help of a $92.8 million Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant awarded in February 2024 from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), Missouri is adding truck parking, Intelligent Transportation System (ITS), work zone safety technology, and workforce development to bring I-70 up to a state-of-the art standard.  

What they’re Saying: “I just think looking back in 10, 20 years, we’re going to say we’re really glad that we did this.” – State Sen. Travis Fitzwater (R), co-chair of the General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Transportation Oversight (St. Louis Public Radio, 12/27/2023)