Interstate 70 in Missouri

This article is about the section of Interstate 70 in Missouri. For the entire length of the highway, see Interstate 70.

Interstate 70
Route information
Maintained by Missouri DOT
Length:	251.66 mi (405.01 km)
Existed:	1956 – present
Major junctions
West end:	I-70 / US-24 / US-40 / US-169 at Kansas state line
	I-29 / I-35 / US 71 in Kansas City I-670 in Kansas City I-435 in Kansas City I-470 in Independence I-270 in Maryland Heights I-170 in Berkeley I-55 / I-64 / US 40 in St. Louis
East end:	I-55 / I-64 / I-70 / US 40 at Illinois state line
Highway system
Main route of the Interstate Highway System Main • Auxiliary • Business Missouri Highways Supplemental ← US 69 US 71 →

In the U.S. state of Missouri, Interstate 70 is generally parallel to the Missouri River. This section of the transcontinental Interstate has its western terminus at the Kansas state line on the Lewis and Clark Viaduct, concurrent with U.S. Routes 24, 40, and 169, where the east end is concurrent with Interstates 64 and 55, as well as US 40.

Route description

Kansas City

While passing through Kansas City, I-70 is known as the "George Brett Super Highway," named after the former third baseman of the Kansas City Royals who is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. The Truman Sports Complex, which houses the Royals' and Chiefs' stadiums, is located along I-70 at Interstate 435.

Beginning on the Lewis and Clark Viaduct, I-70 immediately encounters the Alphabet Loop, a small but complex loop of freeways with all of its exits having a number of 2 and a letter suffix that uses the entire alphabet (except I, O, and Z). Interstate 35 becomes concurrent with I-70 as soon as the highway gets into the Loop, and maintain the concurrency until the northeastern corner of the Loop. Back at the northwest corner, US 169 splits off to the north, leaving four routes concurrent with each other. There is a large interchange with Route 9 as the Loop reaches the northeastern corner. When it does reach the corner, US 24 splits to the east, I-29 ends, and US 71 joins.

After that, the freeway turns south, with interchanges to more roads. At the southeastern end, I-70, US 40, and 71 exit the Loop, where I-70 and US 40 splits east and US 71 continues south. I-670 ends, where I-70 and US 40 usurp the alignment. Soon after usurpation, I-70 and US 40 turn southeast, and at exit 7A, US 40 departs from I-70. Soon after that, I-70 interchanges with Interstate 435, the beltway around Kansas City.

Independence to Wentzville

I-70 in Saline County

East of Interstate 435, I-70 continues east through Independence, Missouri, passing a busy cloverleaf interchange at Interstate 470. The highway then continues with six lanes to the rapidly growing suburb of Blue Springs, where the roadway narrows to four lanes (two each direction) at Route 7. I-70 remains at this width until its intersection with Interstate 64 in Wentzville, over 170 miles (270 km) away.

East of Blue Springs, I-70 takes on a rural character as it leaves Jackson County. The highway remains this way for the next 100 miles (160 km), going through gently rolling terrain and finally crossing the Missouri River just west of where it reaches the mid size college town of Columbia in the center of the state. Through Columbia, the highway is lined with restaurants and hotels and can get quite congested during sporting events at the nearby University of Missouri. The highway leaves Columbia after an exit with St. Charles Road on the east end of town. East of Columbia, I-70 continues through more gently rolling terrain until it reaches Wentzville. It then expands to three lanes each direction to St. Louis.

St. Louis

I-70 west of St. Louis; shown here is rush-hour traffic congestion. As of August 2007 eastbound through this section (on the right side in this picture) is being widened to 4 lanes.

East of Wentzville, Missouri I-70 passes through the bedroom community of Lake St. Louis, then growing cities of O'Fallon, St. Peters and then historic city of St. Charles.

It crosses over the Missouri River one last time on the Blanchette Bridge; actually two bridges, the westbound span built in the late 1950s and the eastbound span completed in the late 1970s.

Traffic volume increases as I-70 enters St. Louis County requiring more lanes. There are as many as 13 lanes at one point. The section I-70 from Fifth Street in St. Charles to Interstate 270 is among the busiest section of highway in the state, with AADT counts approaching 165,000 in 2005.[2]

I-270 draws much of the traffic so I-70 continues east through Bridgeton with only six lanes. It passes on the southern edge of Lambert St. Louis International Airport and through several bedroom communities, including Edmunson, Berkeley, Ferguson and Jennings crossing Interstate 170 in the process.

Finally entering the city of St. Louis, motorists encounter what are signed as the Express Lanes, known by MoDOT as the "reversible lanes". Two lanes down the middle of the freeway are separated from the eastbound and westbound lanes by Jersey barriers. Due to changing traffic patterns due to the Interstate 64 reconstruction, the lanes run eastbound all day. MoDOT regularly monitors traffic patterns of this stretch of I-70 and will adjust the express lane traffic patterns accordingly. These lanes have no entrance or exit ramps, except at the ends. They extend approximately 8 miles (13 km) from near Union Blvd to just north of downtown.

I-70 in downtown St. Louis

As I-70 enters downtown St. Louis it passes the Edward Jones Dome and the Gateway Arch. Finally it merges with Interstate 64, Interstate 55, and US 40 and crosses the Poplar Street Bridge over the Mississippi River to Illinois. Missouri and Illinois have agreed to build a new bridge across the Mississippi River north of the Edward Jones Dome.

under the elevated section of the highway in north St. Louis

I-70 has been criticized for cutting off Downtown St. Louis from the Mississippi River waterfront particularly at the Gateway Arch. St. Louis is considering a $90 million project to cover the highway by the Arch.

This is not the first controversy involving I-70 and the Arch. In 1959, builders of the Poplar Bridge asked for the National Park Service to give 25 acres (100,000 m²) of the park for the bridge. The request generated enormous controversy and ultimately 2.5 acres (10,000 m²) was turned over for use for the bridge.

Future

Reconstruction of I-70

Interstate 70 across central Missouri is one of the oldest stretches of Interstate Highway in the system, as some sections date back as far as the late 1950s. As a result, the exits often have short, substandard acceleration and deceleration ramps, and the median is relatively narrow, with certain spots of both directions of traffic being separated by no more than a Jersey barrier. Also, a number of overpasses have low clearance, especially railway overpasses. Long-term plans have been identified to expand the highway to between six and eight lanes across the middle of the state.

A March 2010 study of I-70 from the Kansas state line to the I-470 interchange identified several possible improvements, including expansion of the freeway from four to eight lanes, adding HOV or HOT lanes, reconstructing the Truman Road interchange and improving the curves at Jackson Avenue and Truman Road. Some novel ideas included a new alignment of I-70 as a tunnel from the southeast corner of the downtown loop to 22nd/23rd streets, covering the southern portion of the downtown loop (I-670) or making the downtown loop into a uni-directional freeway around downtown, essentially becoming a large roundabout.

Missouri-Illinois Bridge

Main article: New Mississippi River Bridge

The New Mississippi River Bridge is expected to be finished in 2015. It will redirect I-70 traffic off of the congested Poplar Street Bridge.

Exit list

County	Location	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Jackson	Kansas City	2A	I-35 south – Wichita	West end of I–35 / Alphabet Loop overlap
		2B	Beardsley Road	Eastbound exit only; no exit 2B westbound
		2C	Broadway – Downtown
		2D	Delaware Street
		2E	Route 9 north (Oak Street)	Westbound exit is via exit 2H
		2F	Oak Street, Grand Avenue, Walnut Street	Westbound exit only; eastbound exit via exit 2E
		2G	I-29 north / I-35 north / US 71 north – St. Joseph, Des Moines	East end of I-35 overlap; west end of US 71 overlap
		2H	US 24 east (Admiral Boulevard)	East end of US 24 overlap
		2J	11th Street	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		2K	Harrison Street, Troost Avenue	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		2L	I-670 west to I-35 south – Topeka, Wichita	East end of Alphabet Loop overlap
		2M	US 71 south	East end of US 71 overlap; westbound exit is via exit 3A
		3A	The Paseo	No eastbound exit
		3B	Brooklyn Avenue	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		3C	Prospect Avenue
		4A	Benton Boulevard, Truman Road	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		4B	18th Street
		4C	23rd Street
		5A	27th Street	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		5B	31st Street	Eastbound exit only
		5C	Jackson Ave	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		6	Van Brunt Boulevard
		7A	US 40 east	East end of US 40 overlap; eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		7A	31st Street	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		7B	Manchester Trafficway
		8	I-435 – Wichita, Des Moines	Signed as exits 8A (south) and 8B (north)
		9	Blue Ridge Cutoff – Truman Sports Complex
		10	Sterling Avenue	Eastbound exit only; westbound exit is via exit 11
		11	US 40 (Blue Ridge Boulevard)
	Independence
		12	Noland Road
		14	Lee's Summit Road
		15	I-470 south / Route 291 – Lee's Summit, Liberty	Signed as exits 15A (south) and 15B (north)
		17	Little Blue Parkway, 39th Street
		18	Blue Springs, Lake Tapawingo, Fleming Park
	Blue Springs
		20	Route 7 – Blue Springs, Lake Lotawana
		21	Adams Dairy Parkway – Blue Springs
	Grain Valley	24	US 40 west / Route AA west / Route BB north – Grain Valley, Buckner	West end of US 40 overlap
	Oak Grove	28	Route F south / Route H north – Levasy, Oak Grove
Lafayette	Bates City	31	Route D north / Route Z south – Bates City, Napoleon
	Odessa	37A	Outlet Mall	Eastbound exit only; westbound exit is via exit 37
		37B	Route 131 – Odessa, Wellington	Signed as exit 37 westbound
		38	Johnson Drive	Eastbound exit is via exit 37B
		41	Route M south / Route O north – Lexington, Mayview
		45	Route E south / Route H north – Mayview
	Higginsville	49	Route 13 – Higginsville, Warrensburg
		52	Route T north – Aullville
	Concordia	58	Route 23 – Waverly, Concordia
	Emma	62	Route VV north / Route Y south – Emma
Saline
	Sweet Springs	66	Route 127 – Sweet Springs, Mt. Leonard
		71	Route EE north / Route K south – Houstonia
		74	Route YY north
		78	US 65 – Sedalia, Marshall	Signed as exits 78A (south) and 78B (north)
		84	Route J
Cooper		89	Route K north / Route M south – Arrow Rock, Blackwater
		98	Route 41 north / Route 135 south – Arrow Rock, Pilot Grove
	Boonville	101	I-70 Bus. east / US 40 east / Route 5 south (Ashley Road) – Boonville, Tipton	East end of US 40 overlap
		103	Route B (Main Street) – Boonville, Bunceton
		106	I-70 Bus. west / Route 87 (Bingham Road) – Boonville, Prairie Home
		111	Route 98 / Route 179 south – Overton, Wooldridge
Boone		115	Route BB north / Roby Farm Road – Rocheport
		117	Route J north / Route O south – Huntsdale, Harrisburg
		121	US 40 west / Route 240 west / Route UU south – Fayette	West end of US 40 overlap
	Columbia	124	Route 740 south (Stadium Boulevard) / Route E north – Columbia
		125	I-70 Bus. east / West Boulevard, Creasy Springs Road – Columbia
		126	Route 163 south (Providence Road) – Columbia
		127	Route 763 (Range Line Road) – Columbia, Moberly
		128	I-70 Bus. west – Columbia	Westbound left exit and eastbound entrance
		128A	US 63 – Jefferson City, Moberly
		131	St. Charles Road, Lake of the Woods Road
		133	Route Z north / Range Line Road – Centralia
Callaway		137	Route DD north / Route J south – Millersburg
		144	Route HH south / Route M north – Hatton
	Kingdom City	148	US 54 – Auxvasse, Mexico, Fulton
		155	Route A north / Route Z south – Bachelor, Calwood
		161	Route D south / Route YY south – Williamsburg
Montgomery		170	Route 161 north / Route J south – Danville, Montgomery City
	New Florence	175	Route 19 – New Florence, Hermann
	High Hill	179	Route F north – High Hill
	Jonesburg	183	Route E north / Route Y south – Jonesburg
Warren		188	Route A north / Route B south – Truxton
	Truesdale; Warrenton	193	Route 47 – Warrenton, Hawk Point
	Wright City	199	Wildcat Drive
		200	Route F south / Route J north – Wright City Route F; Route J – Wright City	Eastbound exit is via exit 199
St. Charles	Foristell	203	Route T south / Route W north – Foristell
	Wentzville	208	Wentzville Parkway
		209	Route Z south / Church Street – New Melle
		210	I-64 east / US 40 east / US 61 – Chesterfield, St. Louis, Wentzville, Hannibal	East end of US 40 overlap; signed as exits 210A (east/south) and 210B (north)
		212	Route A north / Freymuth Road
	Lake St. Louis	214	Lake St. Louis Boulevard – Lake St. Louis
	O'Fallon	216	Bryan Road
		217	Route K south / Route M north (Main Street) – O'Fallon
		219	T.R. Hughes Road, Belleau Creek Road
	St. Peters	220	Route 79 north / Salt Lick Road – Elsberry, Louisiana
		222	Route C north / Mid Rivers Mall Drive – St. Peters
		224	Route 370 east
		225	Cave Springs Road, Harry S. Truman Road
	St. Charles	227	Zumbehl Road
		228	I-70 Bus. east (First Capitol Drive) / Route 94 – St. Charles, Weldon Spring
		229	I-70 Bus. west (Fifth Street) – St. Charles	Signed as exits 229A (south) and 229B (north) westbound
St. Louis County	Maryland Heights	231	Earth City Expressway, Maryland Heights Expressway	Signed as exits 231A (Maryland Heights Expressway) and 231B (Earth City Expessway)
		232	I-270 – Chicago, Memphis	Signed as exits 232A (south) and 232B (north) westbound
	Bridgeton
		234	Route 180 (St. Charles Rock Road)
		235A-B	US 67 (Lindbergh Boulevard)	Signed as exits 235A (south) and 235B (north)
		235C	Cypress Road, Natural Bridge Road – Airport
	Edmundson	236	Pear Tree Drive, Natural Bridge Road, Airflight Drive, Lambert International Boulevard – Airport
	Berkeley	237	Route 115 east (Natural Bridge Road)	No westbound exit
		238A	Airport	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		238	I-170	Signed as exits 238B (south) and 238C (north)
		239	Hanley Road	Westbound exit is via exit 240
	Cool Valley	240	– Florissant Road, University Boulevard
	Normandy	241A	Bermuda Road
	Northwoods; Norwood Court	241B	Route U / Lucas Road, Hunt Road
	Pine Lawn	242	Jennings Station Road
City of St. Louis		243A	Goodfellow Boulevard	Eastbound exit is via exit 242
		243B	Route 367 north (Riverview Boulevard)	Westbound exit only
		243C	Bircher Boulevard	Eastbound exit only
		244A	Union Boulevard
		244B	Kingshighway	Eastbound exit is via exit 244A
		245A	Shreve Avenue
		245B	West Florissant Avenue
		246A	Broadway – O'Fallon Park
		246B	Adelaide Avenue
		247	Grand Boulevard
		248A	Salisbury Street – McKinley Bridge
		248B	Branch Street	Westbound exit only
		248C	St. Louis Avenue	Eastbound exit and entrance
		249A	Madison Street – Scottrade Center	Westbound exit and entrance
		249A	Tenth Street – Scottrade Center	Eastbound exit only
		249C	Convention Center, Broadway – America's Center, Busch Stadium	Eastbound exit only
		249D	Broadway – Edward Jones Dome	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		250A	Martin L. King Bridge – East St. Louis, Gateway Arch, Riverfront	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance – Former Exit of Convention Center, Cole St, Arch-Riverfront
		250B	Memorial Drive, Pine Street – Downtown St. Louis	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		251B	Memorial Drive – Gateway Arch, Riverfront, America's Center	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		251A	I-55 south / I-64 west / US 40 west to I-44 west – Memphis, St. Louis, Tulsa	West end of I-55 / I-64 / US 40 overlap; signed as exits 40C (south) and no number (west) westbound; no eastbound exit to I-64 west / US 40 west and westbound entrance from I-64 east / US 40 east
		Poplar Street Bridge over the Mississippi River (state line)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Notes

1. ^ I-670 in Google Maps also has I-70 on it because I-670 is designated "Alternate I-70".

References

Interstate 70
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