Interstate 270 (Illinois–Missouri)

Interstate 270
Route information
Maintained by IDOT and MoDOT
Length:	50.59 mi[1] (81.42 km)
Existed:	1956 – present
Major junctions
CCW end:	I-55 / I-255 in Mehlville, MO
	I-44 / US 50 / Route 366 in Sunset Hills, MO I-64 / US 40 / US 61 in Town and Country, MO I-70 in Bridgeton, MO US 67 in Hazelwood, MO I-170 in Hazelwood, MO I-255 / IL 255 near Pontoon Beach, IL
CW end:	I-55 / I-70 near Troy, IL
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business ← IL 267 IL I-280 → ← Route 269 MO Route 273 →

Interstate 270 (I-270) makes up a large portion of the outer belt freeway in the St. Louis, Missouri metropolitan area. The counterclockwise terminus of I-270 is at the junction with I-55 in Mehlville, Missouri; the clockwise terminus of the freeway is at the junction with I-55 and I-70 north of Troy, Illinois. The entire stretch of I-270 is 50.59 miles (81.42 km).

I-270 between I-70 and I-55 was formerly designated I-244, a western bypass of St. Louis, Missouri. It was originally proposed by Missouri as I-144, but the road was a beltway (or part of one), so the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) assigned it the number "I-244". By the late 1970s, the entire beltway (including today's I-255) was integrated as a part of I-270 for consistency. However, the politicians in Illinois started planning their supplemental freeway system in the mid-1970s and a five-mile (8.0 km) section of "Corridor 413" was included into the Interstate Highway System in April 1978.^[2] This caused a potential place of confusion in Pontoon Beach, Illinois where I-270 would have intersected itself, and eventually the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) decided on the I-255 numbering in 1980 (but not before considering renumbering an eight-mile (13 km) section to I-870).

History

The section of I-270 on the Missouri side was completed by June 1964, while the section that was I-244 was completed by November 1968.^[3] The section from Illinois Route 3 (IL 3) to I-55 in Illinois was finished by May 1965.^[4]

During the Great Flood of 1993, the New Chain of Rocks Bridge carrying I-270 over the Mississippi River was the only bridge open from St. Louis to Keokuk, Iowa, at one point. (All other bridges from the McKinley Bridge to the Keokuk Bridge were closed at the peak of that flood.)

The last major construction project on I-270 occurred from 1995 to 1998. Both the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) and IDOT upgraded I-270 to modern standards from Lilac Avenue to I-255. However, this section of I-270 is still at two lanes in each direction.

On September 13, 1999, a fatal accident involving a tractor-trailer occurred in the westbound lanes of I-270^[5] in front of the now-defunct St. Thomas Aquinas-Mercy High School (now North County Christian School) in North St. Louis County. This accident sped up efforts that led to the I-170/I-270 interchange reconstruction that went from 2001 to 2004.

A major accident and fire from a FedEx Ground truck between the Route 367 and Lilac Avenue exits on October 28, 2002, forced detours and lengthy delays.^[6][7]

There were plans to sign an eight-mile (13 km) section of I-270 from Glen Carbon to Edwardsville as I-870. However, this idea was discarded.^[8]

In 2008, MODOT implemented new variable speed limits on I-270/I-255 with the normal limit being 60 mph (97 km/h).^[9] However, due to complaints from the public, these signs were planned to be updated in 2011 to advisory signs.^[10]

Future

IDOT wanted to widen I-270 from Lilac Avenue to I-255 from four lanes to six, but no money is available at the time of the proposal in 2007.^[11] However, IDOT has announced that nearly $100 million has been programmed for replacement of the canal bridges between 2011 and 2016.^[12]

MoDOT has also identified the need of improving the I-270 corridor in North St. Louis County, which could cost in the range of $200 million.^[13] MoDOT recently held a public study of this corridor and has an website of this.^[14]

A five-mile (8.0 km) section of I-270 between I-44 and Manchester is due to be widened to five lanes in each direction, with work taking place between 2012 and 2013.^[15] This section of I-270 sees up to 185,000 vehicles per day,^[16] and peak hour congestion is common.^{[citation needed]}

Route description

In Missouri, I-270 diverges from at I-55 as a 10-lane freeway heading west of I-55's route but still maintaining a I-55's tendency to travel northward. I-270 intersects I-44 in a modified cloverleaf interchange that was rebuilt in the 1990s. Railroad overpasses and rocky bluffs between I-44 and Dougherty Ferry Road reduces the interstate to eight lanes for about 2 miles and this section is known for frequent traffic tie-ups during peak hours. This section was widened as of late 2013 to 5 lanes in each direction. I-270 meets up with I-64 with a stack interchange that was built from 1987 to 1993 (it was previously a cloverleaf that was a frequent source of backups).

From Dougherty Ferry Road through I-70, it continues as a 10-lane Interstate, although the right lanes often serve as exit lanes. The intersection with Olive was upgraded to a single-point urban interchange in the mid-2000s, and during 2010–11, the interchanges with Route 364 (Page Avenue) and Dorsett Road were upgraded with the latter intersection becoming a diverging diamond interchange. Congestion in this area is severe to the point MoDOT has spent millions on various traffic control improvements since the 1990s. One of the safety improvements is a "double white line" that motorists are not permitted to cross (violation of that could lead to a fine of $500) that is located at the exits for I-70 in the northbound lanes. Other safety implementations include a special Maryland Heights police cruiser that is dedicated to traffic enforcement on this section of I-270, congestion warning signs, and traffic cameras.

At I-70, I-270 makes a transition from a north–south highway to an east–west highway though not signed as such until McDonnell Road, and will eventually become a six-lane highway by the time it reaches Lindbergh Road. It then meets I-170, which had its interchange rebuilt from 2001–04 during which a left exit lane in the westbound lane was corrected. This section of I-270 was a source of frequent backups during the late-afternoon hours until the interchange was rebuilt. A fatal accident in September 1999 spurred the rebuilding of the interchange although the accident did not occur at that location happening a mile east of the interchange. I-270 then passes various streets where every westbound exit connects to Dunn Road and one must use Dunn Road to access I-270 with the only exceptions being the Riverview, Lilac, and Route 367) exits. Since Dunn Road handles two-way traffic, this has become a safety and congestion issue that MoDOT wants to address in the near future.

At Lilac, I-270 constricts to four lanes as it crosses the Mississippi River on the New Chain of Rocks Bridges. Approaching Missouri and entering Illinois, I-270 transitions from a suburban Interstate to an exurban Interstate with farm fields and wooded land bordering the Interstate in the area to the immediately east and west of the river crossing. Once it crosses the Chain of Rocks Canal, I-270 will intersect four different highways providing access to communities in eastern Madison County: IL 3, Old Alton Road, IL 203 and IL 111. The interchange with IL 3 is a partial cloverleaf with the loop ramps in the northeast and southeast quadrants. The remaining two are cloverleaf interchanges, with the Old Alton Road/IL 203 interchange using a collector–distributor system with two folded diamonds due to the presence of railroad tracks between the two roadways. Once it passes IL 111, the speed limit increases to 65 mph (105 km/h) as the highway briefly becomes six lanes again with the junction with I-255. The highway then reverts to a four-lane highway offering diamond interchanges with IL 157 and IL 159 before meeting up with I-55/I-70 at the interchange that IDOT refers as the "3 I's". The eastbound I-270 meets the northeastbound combination of I-55 and I-70 which leave the intersection as northbound I-55 and eastbound I-70 which has adopted I-270's mile markings.

In popular culture

This highway is referenced in Chingy's song "Holidae In" although 270 does not intersect Natural Bridge Road.^{[citation needed]}

Exit list

County	Location	Mile[17]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
St. Louis	Green Park	0.00	0.00	1A	US 61 / US 67 (Lemay Ferry Road) I-55 – St. Louis, Memphis I-255 east – Chicago	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; signed as exits 1A (south) and 1B (north) westbound; freeway continues as I-255
		1.89	3.04	2	Route 21 (Tesson Ferry Road)
	Sunset Hills	3.64	5.86	3	Route 30 (Gravois Road)
		5.68– 5.98	9.14– 9.62	5	I-44 / US 50 / Route 366 east – St. Louis, Tulsa	Signed as exits 5A (east) and 5B (west)
	Kirkwood	7.56	12.17	7	Big Bend Road	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	Des Peres	8.45	13.60	8	Dougherty Ferry Road
		9.91	15.95	9	Route 100 (Manchester Road)
	Town and Country	12.43	20.00	12	I-64 / US 40 / US 61 – Wentzville, St. Louis
	Creve Coeur	13.58	21.85	13	Route AB (Ladue Road)
		14.73	23.71	14	Route 340 (Olive Boulevard)
	Maryland Heights	16.31	26.25	16A	Route D east (Page Avenue)
		16.66	26.81	16B	Route 364 west
		17.67	28.44	17	Dorsett Road
	Bridgeton	20.04	32.25	20	I-70 – Kansas City, St. Louis	Signed as exits 20A (east) and 20B (west)
		20.81	33.49	20C	Route 180 (St. Charles Rock Road) / Natural Bridge Road
		22.48	36.18	22	Route 370 west
		22.18	35.70	22	Missouri Bottom Road	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
	Hazelwood	23.58	37.95	23	McDonnell Boulevard
		25.24	40.62	25	US 67 (Lindbergh Boulevard)	Signed as exits 25A (south) and 25B (north)
		26.31	42.34	26A	I-170 south – Clayton
		26.61	42.82	26B	North Hanley Road, Graham Road
	Florissant	27.57	44.37	27	Route N (New Florissant Road)
		28.10	45.22	28	Washington Street, Elizabeth Avenue
		29.59	47.62	29	West Florissant Avenue
		30.29	48.75	30	Route AC (New Halls Ferry Road)
		30.64	49.31	30A	Old Halls Ferry Road	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
	Moline Acres	31.82	51.21	31	Route 367 – St. Louis, Alton	Signed as exits 31A (south) and 31B (north)
	Bellefontaine Neighbors	32.79	52.77	32	Bellefontaine Road
		33.77	54.35	33	Lilac Avenue
City of St. Louis		34.88	56.13	34	Riverview Drive
Mississippi River		36.02 0.00	57.97 0.00	New Chain of Rocks Bridge Missouri–Illinois state line
Madison		2.73	4.39	3	IL 3 / Great River Road north / GRR spur south – Granite City, Alton	West end of GRR overlap; signed as exits 3A (south) and 3B (north) eastbound
		4.39	7.07	4	IL 203 south – Granite City, Old Alton Rd	IL-203 and Old Alton Rd are two folded diamond interchanges served by a single collector distributor road, making it one interchange.
		5.92	9.53	6	IL 111 / Great River Road south – Pontoon Beach, Wood River	East end of GRR overlap; signed as exits 6A (south) and 6B (north)
		7.16	11.52	7	I-255 south / IL 255 north – Memphis, Alton	Signed as exits 7A (south) and 7B (north) westbound
		7.16	11.52	9	IL 157 – Collinsville, Edwardsville
		11.87	19.10	12	IL 159 – Collinsville, Edwardsville
		14.57	23.45	15	I-55 / I-70 west – Chicago, St. Louis I-70 east – Indianapolis	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; signed as exits 15A (south/west) and 15B (north); freeway continues as I-70 east
	1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

External links

• Interstate 270 at kurumi.com

v t e Auxiliary routes of Interstate 70 Colorado 270 4701 Kansas 470 Missouri 170 470 Illinois Ohio 270 670 Maryland 1701 270 270 Spur 370 Multi-state 270 IL–MO 470 OH–WV 670 KS–MO 1Former