Interstate 170
 Interstate 170 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inner Belt Expressway | ||||
 I-170 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by MoDOT | ||||
| Length | 11.17 mi[1] (17.98 km) | |||
| Existed | 1956–present | |||
| NHS | Entire route | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |   I-64 / US 40 in Richmond Heights | |||
 I-70 in Berkeley | ||||
| North end |  I-270 in Hazelwood | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Missouri | |||
| Counties | St. Louis | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
Interstate 170 (I-170) is the designation for an interstate route in the St. Louis, Missouri metropolitan area. I-170, also known as the Inner Belt Expressway, is an 11.17-mile (17.98 km) highway traveling north-south through the St. Louis suburbs.
I-170 connects to Interstate 270 at its northern terminus and Interstate 64 at its southern terminus; at exits 7A and 7B, I-170 crosses its parent, I-70. Interstate 170 also provides access to Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.
History
I-170 was originally intended to provide an inner beltway within I-270 through St. Louis County extending to I-55 in the South County area;[2] however, the portion of the route south of I-64/US 40 was canceled due to local opposition. The portion of MetroLink's Cross County Extension south of I-64 runs roughly along the proposed alignment.[3]
The southern portion of I-170 was built using St. Louis County funds in the 1960s through a shallow valley. It was signed as Route 725.
Recent construction
The southern two interchanges on I-170 (at I-64/US 40 and Galleria Parkway) were reconstructed as part of the first phase of the New I-64 project. Most notably, the new interchange includes direct access to I-170 from eastbound I-64; however, access to Galleria Parkway from northbound I-170 was eliminated. Eager Road access to and from I-170 was also revised in the New I-64 project.[4]
Southern Extension
Because Interstate 170 terminates at I-64/US-40, a direct access from Interstate 170 and Interstate 64 (Highway 40) to Interstate 55, Interstate 270, and Interstate 44 are lacked. Also, towns such as Richmond Heights, Brentwood, Maplewood, and Marlbourough lack access to the Interstates, the St. Louis Lambert International Airport, South County, and to each other. Because of this, commuters either have to take indirect surface streets as bypasses such as Hanley Road or River Des Peres Boulevard which would result in a much higher mileage and time due to traffic signals and a longer route. For example, if one is in Richmond Heights and wants to get to South County, they have to take Brentwood Blvd to Eager Road to Hanley Road to Murdoch Ave to I-44 and then to I-270 towards South County. This also results in higher traffic in residential streets and towns such as Shrewsbury.[5] Proposals had been made to solve this problem such as a new freeway for faster commute or “South County Connector” to connect Richmond Heights to South County but these proposals had been postponed due to lack of funding.[6]
Exit list
The entire route is in St. Louis County.
| Location | mi[7] | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richmond Heights | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1 |  I-64 / US 40 / Lewis and Clark Trail – Wentzville, St. Louis | Signed as exits 1A (east) and 1B (west) | |
| 0.438 | 0.705 | 1C | Brentwood Boulevard north / Eager Road | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | ||
| Clayton | 0.809 | 1.302 | 1D | Brentwood Boulevard south | Southbound exit and northbound entrance (via Galleria Parkway) | |
| 1.170 | 1.883 | 1E | Forest Park Parkway east | Western terminus of the Forest Park Parkway | ||
| Ladue | 1.611 | 2.593 | 1F | Ladue Road | ||
| University City | 2.374 | 3.821 | 2 | Delmar Boulevard | ||
| Olivette | 3.336 | 5.369 | 3 |  Route 340 (Olive Boulevard) | ||
| Overland | 4.325 | 6.960 | 4 |  Route D (Page Avenue) | ||
| St. John | 5.865 | 9.439 | 5 |  Route 180 (St. Charles Rock Road) | ||
| Bel-Ridge | 7.027 | 11.309 | 6 |  Route 115 (Natural Bridge Road) – Cargo City | ||
| Berkeley | 7.654 | 12.318 | 7 | I-70 – St. Louis, Kansas City | Signed as exit 7A (east) and 7B (west); exit 235 | |
| 7.771 | 12.506 | 7C |  Lambert–St. Louis International Airport | Southbound exit is via exit 7B | ||
| 8.577 | 13.803 | 8 | Scudder Road / North Hanley Road | No northbound entrance | ||
| 9.167 | 14.753 | 9A | Airport Road – Cargo City | |||
| 9.236 | 14.864 | 9B | Boeing | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||
| 9.780 | 15.739 | 9C | North Hanley Road | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||
| Hazelwood | 10.894– 11.255 | 17.532– 18.113 | 10 | I-270 – Kansas City, Chicago | Signed as exits 10A (west) and 10B (east) | |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | ||||||
References
- ^ "Route Log and Finder List - Interstate System - table 2". Federal Highway Administration. 2002-10-31. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
- ^ Sutin, Phil; Hopgood, Mei-Ling (1997-01-09). "Hundreds of Homes Face Razing for New Highway". St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- ^ Sutin, Phil (1997-03-14). "Westfall Sours On Extension of Interstate 170". St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- ^ "Project Overview". The New I-64. Missouri Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on 2007-05-04. Retrieved 2007-05-28.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ 314-340-8215, KEN LEISER | kleiser@post-dispatch.com >. "Linking South County, Clayton studied". stltoday.com. Retrieved 2018-01-19.
{{cite news}}:|last=has numeric name (help) - ^ "South County Connector: 1st Phase of 170 South Extension?". FOX2now.com. 2013-05-14. Retrieved 2018-01-14.
- ^ Missouri Department of Transportation (March 18, 2015). MoDOT HPMAPS (Map). Missouri Department of Transportation. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
