The Improve I-70 KC project is a 5-mile stretch of Interstate 70 between The Paseo Boulevard and U.S. 40/31 Street in Kansas City. This section of I-70 was built in the early 1960s and carries up to 120,000 vehicles per day with heavy traffic congestion during rush hours and traffic incidents. It includes 12 interchanges and 26 bridges. The current section has narrow shoulders, short distances between ramps, low bridge vertical clearances, and outdated roadway geometric features. Most of the bridges and pavement are in poor condition, and the pedestrian and bicycle facilities need improvement.
“This project is critical to the Kansas City region to replace aging infrastructure, improve connectivity between neighborhoods along and across I-70, and improve safety and traffic flow including the Benton and Jackson curves,” said Allan Ludiker, Missouri Department of Transportation Improve I-70 Kansas City Project Director. “We will do all of this while keeping three lanes of I-70 open each direction during the World Cup.”
The $237 million Improve I-70 Kansas City project will improve the safety and reliability of this corridor section, maintain the serviceability of bridges and pavement, and improve accessibility for the local community, while minimizing the overall traffic impacts along the corridor. Construction is scheduled to begin in spring 2025 with an anticipated project completion by spring 2028, which is seven months ahead of the required completion date. Three lanes of I-70 will remain open in both directions during the 2026 World Cup.
The winning Improve I-70 Kansas City project proposal includes:
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- Adding a fourth eastbound I-70 lane from Prospect Avenue to the Manchester Avenue Bridge
- Replacing 15 bridges and rehabilitating another seven bridges
- Improving pedestrian and bicycle connectivity throughout the project area
- Reconstructing I-70 from Chestnut Avenue to 18th Street (Benton curve)
- Reconstructing eastbound I-70 from 27th Street to Cypress Avenue (Jackson curve)
- Rehabilitating westbound I-70 from 27th Street to Cypress Avenue (Jackson curve)
