Downtown freeway loop

Downtown Loop

The southern portion of the loop (Interstate 670) at night
Alphabet Loop
Location
Kansas City, Missouri
Roads at
junction:
 
Construction
Type: Loop around downtown
Opened:  
Maintained by: MoDOT
Map

The downtown loop, also nicknamed the "Alphabet Loop", is a complex layout of highways in downtown Kansas City, Missouri involving 23 exits, four Interstate Highways, four U.S. Highways and numerous city streets. Each exit in the highway loop is numbered 2 and suffixed with every letter of the alphabet except I, O and Z (which would look like 1, 0 and 2 on the exit signs), although some of the exits are currently under construction/renovation and closed to traffic. The entire circumference of the loop is just over four miles (6 km).

Contents

Description

Alphabetically, the letter suffixes begin with A in the northwest corner of the loop and proceed forward in a clockwise direction around the loop. Eastbound on the north side of the loop (EB I-70/NB I-35), one encounters A through G; then H through M southbound on the east side (EB I-70/SB US 71); then N through U westbound on the south side (WB I-670); and finally V through Y northbound on the west side (NB I-35 alone).

Interstate 70 enters the southeast corner of the loop and moves north forming the east and north sides of the loop and exiting in the northwest corner. Exits on I-70 range from 2A to 2M.

Interstate 35 enters the loop at its northeast corner, joining I-70 on the north side and forming the west side of the loop before exiting in the southwest corner. Exits on I-35 range from 2F to 2A while it overlaps I-70, and 2Y to 2U after I-70 exits the loop.

Interstate 29 does not enter the loop. It begins at the northeast corner and continues north, concurrent with I-35. These two leave the loop via the Christopher S. Bond Bridge and split several miles north.

Interstate 670 forms the south side of the loop. I-670 splits from I-70 in Kansas City, Kansas, crosses over I-70 and enters the loop in the southwest corner, rejoining I-70 and ending in Kansas City, Missouri in the southeast corner of the loop.  I-670 is also signed as Alternate I-70.

U.S. Route 71 is a highway that enters the loop in the southeast corner and leaves the loop with I-29 and I-35 in the northeast corner.

U.S. Route 24 is a major city street which enters the loop in the northeast corner and follows I-35 and I-70 along the north side of the loop. US 24 is also known as Independence Ave/Blvd and provides a street-level connection to Independence, Missouri.

U.S. Route 40 overlaps I-70 throughout the northern and eastern sections of the loop.

U.S. Route 169 enters the loop in the northwest corner from the Broadway Bridge across the Missouri River, and joins I-70, continuing westward.

Route 9 also provides access to the loop, ending at I-70 after crossing the Heart of America Bridge from North Kansas City.

History

Before the west side of the loop was built, there was a scenic road called Kersey Coates Drive in that place. There were many affluent homes that were built along the road, and stairs that led down from Case Park immediately to the east.  When the loop was completed, the multi-lane Interstate cut further into the bluff and these homes were razed.  The stairs leading down from Case Park were cut off halfway and still remain today, between exits 2W and 2X.

A March 2010 preliminary study[1] of the Kansas City I-70 corridor made several innovative suggestions to relieve congestion in the downtown area. One proposal was to make the loop unidirectional, where the loop would essentially become a large roundabout.

Exit list

Exit Destinations Notes
2A I-35 south Counterclockwise exit
2B Broadway Clockwise exit
2C US 169 north Counterclockwise exit
2D Deleware Street
2E Route 9 north Clockwise exit
2F Oak Street Counterclockwise exit
2G I-35 north / US 71 north to I-29 north
2H US 24 east
2J 11th Street Clockwise exit
2K Harrison Ave Counterclockwise exit
2L I-670 west Clockwise exit
2M US 71 south
2N US 71 north to I-29 / I-35 north / I-70 west Counterclockwise exit
2P 13th Street Clockwise exit
2Q Truman Road Clockwise exit
2R Central Avenue Counterclockwise exit
2S Broadway Counterclockwise exit
2T I-35 Clockwise exit
2U I-670 east Counterclockwise exit
2W 12th Street
2V 11th Street Counterclockwise exit
2X I-70 west / US-24 west / US-40 west / US-169 south Clockwise exit
2Y US-169 north Clockwise exit

See also

References

  1. ^ "Draft I-70 First Tier Environmental Impact Statement (FTEIS)". Missouri Department of Transportation. http://modot.org/kansascity/metroi70/documents/Chapter2-AlternativesConsidered.pdf. Retrieved 2010-03-30.