Interstate 70 in Missouri

Interstate 70 marker

Interstate 70
Route information
Maintained by MoDOT
Length: 250.063 mi[1] (402.437 km)
Existed: 1956 – present
Major junctions
West end: I-70 / US-24 / US-40 / US-169 at Kansas state line
 
East end: I-70 at Illinois state line
Highway system
US 69US 71

In the U.S. state of Missouri, Interstate 70 (I-70) is generally parallel to the Missouri River. This section of the transcontinental Interstate begins at the Kansas state line on the Lewis and Clark Viaduct, concurrent with U.S. Routes 24, 40, and 169, and the east end is on the Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge in St. Louis.

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 I-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).[2] I-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.[3] 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.[4] When it does reach the corner, US 24 splits to the east, I-29 ends, and US 71 joins.[5]

After that, the freeway turns south, with interchanges to more roads. At the southeastern end, I-70/US 40/US 71 exit the Loop, where I-70/US 40 split off to the east and US 71 continues south. I-670 ends where I-70/US 40 usurp the alignment.[6] Soon after usurpation, I-70/US 40 turn southeast, and at exit 7A, US 40 departs from I-70.[7] Soon after that, I-70 interchanges with I-435, the beltway around Kansas City.[8]

Independence to Wentzville

I-70 in Saline County

East of I-435, I-70 continues east through Independence, passing a busy cloverleaf interchange at I-470.[9] 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.[10] I-70 remains at this width until just west of the intersection with I-64/US 40/US 61 in Wentzville, over 170 miles (270 km) away.

East of Blue Springs, I-70 takes on a rural highway as it leaves Jackson County. The highway remains this way for the next 100 miles (160 km), going through gently rolling terrain while it meets US 65 at a cloverleaf interchange and finally crossing the Missouri River at Rocheport just west of where it reaches the mid-sized college town of Columbia in the center of the state.[11] Through Columbia, the highway is lined with restaurants and hotels and can get congested during University of Missouri sporting events. The highway leaves Columbia after an exit with St. Charles Road on the east end of town.[12] East of Columbia, I-70 has an interchange with US 54 at Kingdom City, Route 19 at New Florence, and Route 47 at Warrenton. Then, it continues through more gently rolling terrain until it reaches Wentzville, where it meets I-64/US 61. Here, US 40 departs from I-70. 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. Since this photograph was taken, this section has been widened to 4 lanes in each direction.

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

It crosses over the Missouri River one last time on the Blanchette Memorial Bridge, which is actually made up of two bridges: the westbound span built in the late-1950s and refurbished in 2013 and the eastbound one 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 of I-70 from Fifth Street in St. Charles to I-270 is among the busiest section of highway in the state, with AADT counts approaching 165,000 in 2005.

I-270 draws much of the traffic, so I-70 continues east through Bridgeton with only six lanes. After interchanges with Route 180 (St. Charles Rock Road) and US 67 (Lindbergh Boulevard), it passes on the southern edge of Lambert–St. Louis International Airport and through several bedroom communities – including Edmunson, Berkeley, Ferguson, and Jennings – and crossing I-170 in the process.

As it finally enters the city of St. Louis, motorists encounter what are signed as the "Express Lanes", known by MoDOT as the "reversible lanes".[13] Two lanes in the middle of the freeway are separated from the eastbound and westbound lanes by Jersey barriers. Due to traffic pattern changes caused by the I-64 reconstruction, the lanes travel eastbound all day. MoDOT regularly monitors traffic patterns of this stretch of I-70 and will adjust the express lane traffic patterns accordingly.[13] These lanes have no entrance or exit ramps, except at the ends. They extend approximately 8 miles (13 km) from near Union Boulevard to just north of downtown.

Just before the it enters downtown St. Louis, I-70 turns to the east to cross the Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge, which redirects the highway's traffic away from the congested Poplar Street Bridge two miles (3.2 km) to the south. The former stretch of I-70 now continues as I-44.

History

Prior to 2014, I-70 traveled through downtown St. Louis near the Gateway Arch.

I-70 had 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 (now I-44) by the Arch.[14]

This was not the first controversy involving I-70 and the Arch. In 1959, builders of the Poplar Street Bridge asked for the National Park Service to give 25 acres (10 ha) of the park for the bridge. The request generated enormous controversy and ultimately 2.5 acres (1.0 ha) was turned over to use for the bridge.[15]

The New Mississippi River Bridge was finished and opened to traffic on Sunday, February 9, 2014. It reroutes and redirects I-70 traffic off the congested Poplar Street Bridge. The bridge was named in honor of St. Louis Cardinals baseball legend Stan Musial.[16]

Future

I-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.[17] As a result, the exits often have short, substandard acceleration and deceleration ramps, and the median is relatively narrow. Certain spots of both directions of traffic are 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.[18] Tolling the Interstate has become a possible alternative, although the public does not support this idea. According to the improveI70.com website, tolling would not start until all 189 miles (304 km) of I-70 is reconstructed.

A March 2010 study[19] 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.

Exit list

CountyLocationmi[1]kmExitDestinationsNotes
JacksonKansas City0.0000.000 I-70 / US-24 / US-40 west / US-169 south TopekaContinuation into Kansas
0.886–
1.041
1.426–
1.675
2A I-35 south WichitaWest end of I-35 / Downtown freeway loop concurrency
0.8451.3602BBeardsley RoadEastbound exit and westbound entrance
1.0601.7062C US 169 north (Arrowhead Trafficway) / Broadway Boulevard DowntownEast end of US 169 concurrency
1.3032.0972DMain Street / Delaware Street / Wyandotte StreetSigned as "Main St." only eastbound
1.6512.6572E Route 9 north / Oak StreetWestbound access is via exit 2H
1.853–
2.028
2.982–
3.264
2G I-29 / I-35 / US 71 north / US 24 east St. Joseph, Des MoinesMoDOT signs this as southern terminus of I-29; east end of I-35 and US 24 concurrencies; west end of US 71 concurrency; signed as exit 2G–H eastbound
2H US 24 east to Route 9 / Admiral BoulevardWestbound exit only
2.2733.6582J11th StreetEastbound exit and westbound entrance
2.6684.2942KHarrison Street / Troost AvenueWestbound exit and eastbound entrance
2.375–
2.295
3.822–
3.693
2L I-670 west (I-70 Alt.) to I-35 south Topeka, Wichita
2M US 71 south JoplinEast end of the Bruce Watkins Drive Memorial Parkway; east end of US 71 and Downtown freeway loop concurrency; I-670 exit 2N; westbound access is via exit 3A
14th Street / Charlotte StreetEastbound entrance only
2.9444.7383A To US 71 / The PaseoNo eastbound exit
3.3895.4543BBrooklyn AvenueEastbound exit and westbound entrance
3.6445.8643CProspect Avenue
4.1356.6554ABenton Boulevard / Truman RoadEastbound exit and westbound entrance
4.4207.1134B18th Street
4.8797.8524C23rd Street
5.4478.7665A27th StreetEastbound exit and westbound entrance
5.5788.9775B31st StreetEastbound exit only
5.7569.2635CJackson AvenueWestbound exit and eastbound entrance
6.49310.4496Van Brunt Boulevard
7.05311.3517A US 40 east / 31st StreetEast end of US 40 overlap
7.67512.3527BManchester Trafficway
8.078–
9.105
13.000–
14.653
8 I-435 – Wichita, Des MoinesI-435 exits 63A-B; signed as exits 8A (south) & 8B (north).
9.33815.0289Blue Ridge Cutoff Truman Sports ComplexEastbound exit 9 is via exit 8B
10.84817.45810Sterling AvenueEastbound exit only; westbound exit is via exit 11
Independence11.101–
11.122
17.865–
17.899
11 US 40 (Blue Ridge Boulevard)
12.59620.27112Noland Road
14.09322.68014Lee's Summit Road
15.090–
15.776
24.285–
25.389
15 I-470 south / Route 291 Lee's Summit, Liberty, WichitaI-470 exits 16B–C; signed as exits 15A (south/west) & 15B (north)
16.61326.73617Little Blue Parkway / 39th Street
Blue Springs18.56329.87418Blue Springs, Lake Tapawingo, Fleming Park
20.39232.81820 Route 7 Blue Springs, Lake Lotawana
21.62534.80221Adams Dairy Parkway Blue Springs
Grain Valley24.41239.28724 US 40 west / Route AA west / Route BB north Grain Valley, BucknerWest end of US 40 concurrency
Oak Grove28.16945.33428 Route F south / Route H north Levasy, Oak Grove
LafayetteBates City31.43150.58331 Route D north / Route Z south Bates City, Napoleon
Odessa36.66559.00737AAction Road - Outlet MallEastbound exit only; access to Shops at Odessa; attached to exit 37B
36.98959.52837B Route 131 Odessa, WellingtonSigned as exit 37 westbound; no eastbound entrance - eastbound entrance is via exit 38
38.25261.56138Johnson DriveWestbound exit and eastbound entrance
41.17366.26241 Route M south / Route O north Lexington, Mayview
45.38273.03545 Route E south / Route H north Mayview, Fayetteville
Higginsville49.38779.48149 Route 13 Higginsville, Warrensburg
52.83985.03652 Route T north Aullville
Concordia58.56994.25858 Route 23 Waverly, Concordia
SalineEmma62.574100.70362 Route VV north / Route Y south Emma
Sweet Springs66.891107.65166 Route 127 Sweet Springs, Mt. Leonard
71.383114.88071 Route EE north / Route K south Houstonia
74.606120.06774 Route YY north
78.173125.80778 US 65 Sedalia, MarshallSigned as exits 78A (south) and 78B (north)
84.614136.17384 Route J
Cooper89.918144.70989 Route K north / Route M south Arrow Rock, Blackwater
98.000157.71698 Route 41 north / Route 135 south Arrow Rock, Pilot Grove
Boonville101.781163.801101 BL I-70 east / US 40 east / Route 5 south (Ashley Road) Boonville, TiptonEast end of US 40 overlap
103.551166.649103 Route B (Main Street) Boonville, Bunceton
Windsor Place106.382171.205106 BL I-70 west / Route 87 (Bingham Road) Boonville, Prairie Home
111.455179.369111 Route 98 / Route 179 south Overton, Wooldridge
Missouri River114.714184.614Rocheport Interstate 70 Bridge; CooperBoone county line
Boone115.505185.887115 Route BB north / Roby Farm Road Rocheport
117.687189.399117 Route J north / Route O south Huntsdale, Harrisburg
121.178195.017121 US 40 west / Route 240 west / Route UU south FayetteWest end of US 40 concurrency
Columbia124.398200.199124 Route 740 east (Stadium Boulevard) / Route E north Columbia
125.543202.042125 BL I-70 east / West Boulevard / Creasy Springs Road Columbia
126.545203.654126 Route 163 south (Providence Road) Columbia
127.019204.417127 Route 763 (Range Line Road) Columbia, Moberly
128.287206.458128 BL I-70 west ColumbiaWestbound left exit and eastbound entrance. No access to exit if entering from US 63
128.887207.424128A US 63 Jefferson City, MoberlyIndirect access via I-70 Connector
130.984210.798131St. Charles Road / Lake of the Woods Road
133.644215.079133 Route Z north / Range Line Road Centralia
Callaway137.729221.653137 Route DD north / Route J south Millersburg
144.193232.056144 Route HH south / Route M north Hatton
Kingdom City147.963238.123148 US 54 Auxvasse, Mexico, Fulton, Jefferson City
155.426250.134155 Route A north / Route Z south Bachelor, Calwood
161.318259.616161 Route D south / Route YY south Williamsburg
Montgomery170.374274.190170 Route 161 north / Route J south Danville, Montgomery City
New Florence174.975281.595175 Route 19 New Florence, Hermann
High Hill179.797289.355179 Route F north High Hill
Jonesburg183.780295.765183 Route E north / Route Y south Jonesburg
Warren188.445303.273188 Route A north / Route B south Truxton
TruesdaleWarrenton line193.484311.382193 Route 47 Warrenton, Hawk Point
Wright City198.962320.198199 Route H Wright City
200.000321.869200 Route F south / Route J north Wright CityWestbound exit and eastbound entrance; other half of interchange is via exit 199
St. CharlesForistell203.750327.904203 Route T south / Route W north Foristell
Wentzville208.231335.115208Wentzville Parkway
209.412337.016209 Route Z south / Church Street New Melle
210.090–
211.002
338.107–
339.575
210 I-64 east / US 40 east / US 61 (Avenue of the Saints) Chesterfield, St. Louis, Wentzville, HannibalEast end of US 40 concurrency; signed as exits 210A (east/south) and 210B (north); I-64 exits 1A-B
Lake St. Louis211.948341.097212 Route A north / Freymuth Road
213.950344.319214Lake St. Louis Boulevard Lake St. Louis
O'Fallon215.977347.581216Bryan Road
217.759350.449217 Route K south / Route M north (Main Street) O'Fallon
218.929352.332219T.R. Hughes Road / Belleau Creek Road
St. Peters220.381354.669220 Route 79 north / Salt Lick Road Elsberry, Louisiana
222.098357.432222AMid Rivers Mall Drive
222.262357.696222BVeterans Memorial Parkway / Suemandy DriveEastbound exit only
223.365–
223.945
359.471–
360.405
224 Route 370 eastRoute 370 exits 0A-B
225.129362.310225Cave Springs Road / Harry S Truman Road
St. Charles226.933365.213227Zumbehl Road
228.277367.376228 BL I-70 east (First Capitol Drive) / Route 94 St. Charles, Weldon Spring
229.379369.150229 BL I-70 west (Fifth Street) St. CharlesSigned as exits 229A (south) and 229B (north) westbound
Missouri River230.128370.355Blanchette Memorial Bridge; St. CharlesSt. Louis county line
St. LouisMaryland Heights231.507372.574231A Route 141 south (Maryland Heights Expressway)Cloverleaf interchange
231B Route 141 north (Earth City Expressway)
Maryland HeightsBridgeton line232.222–
233.024
373.725–
375.016
232 I-270 Chicago, MemphisSigned as exits 232A (south) and 232B (north) westbound
Bridgeton234.180376.876234 Route 180 (St. Charles Rock Road)
235.096378.350235 US 67 (Lindbergh Boulevard)Signed as exits 235A (south) and 235B (north)
235.626379.203235C Route B (Natural Bridge Road) / Cypress Road Lambert-St. Louis International Airport
Edmundson236.729380.978236Pear Tree Drive / Natural Bridge Road / Airflight Drive / Lambert International Boulevard Lambert-St. Louis International Airport
Berkeley237.627382.424237 Route 115 east (Natural Bridge Road)No westbound exit
238.068383.133238ALambert-St. Louis International AirportWestbound exit and eastbound entrance
238.430–
239.066
383.716–
384.739
238 I-170Signed as exits 238B (south) and 238C (north); I-170 exits 7A-B.
239.783385.893239Hanley RoadWestbound exit is via exit 240
Cool Valley240.393386.875240 Route N (Florissant Road / University Boulevard) / North Hanley RoadN. Hanley Road not signed eastbound
Normandy240.920387.723241ABermuda Road
NorthwoodsNorwood Court line241.691388.964241B Route U (Lucas & Hunt Road)
Pine Lawn242.774390.707242Jennings Station Road
City of St. Louis243.09391.22243AGoodfellow BoulevardEastbound access via exit 242
243.345391.626243B Route 367 north (Riverview Boulevard)Westbound exit only
244.062392.780243CBircher BoulevardEastbound exit only
244.255393.090244AUnion Boulevard / Kingshighway
I-70 Express Lanes – DowntownWest end of Express Lanes; eastbound exit only; westbound entrance closed in 2009
244.579393.612244BKingshighway BoulevardWestbound exit and eastbound entrance; eastbound access via exit 244A
245.013394.310245AShreve Avenue
245.643395.324245BWest Florissant Avenue
246.111396.077246ABroadway O'Fallon Park
246.622396.900246BAdelaide Avenue
247.218397.859247Grand Boulevard
248.068399.227248A Route 115 west (Salisbury Street) McKinley Bridge
248.515399.946248BBranch StreetWestbound exit only
248.755400.332248CSt. Louis AvenueEastbound exit and entrance
249.274401.168249A I-44 west to I-55 south Tulsa, MemphisFormer route of I-70 through Downtown St. Louis
249.335401.266249BTucker Boulevard Downtown St. LouisSigned as exit 249 westbound; no westbound entrance
249.840402.079292BBroadwayEastbound exit only for Express Lanes; exit number based on I-44 mileage
I-44 westEast end of Express Lanes; eastbound exit only for Express Lanes
Mississippi River250.063402.437Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge; Missouri-Illinois state line
I-70 east IndianapolisContinuation into Illinois
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. 1 2 Missouri Department of Transportation (April 12, 2014). Flex Map Viewer (Map). Missouri Department of Transportation. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
  2. Google (2007-07-08). "Alphabet Loop" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
  3. Google (2007-07-08). "A closer look of the Loop" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
  4. Google (2007-07-08). "Northern part of the Loop" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
  5. Google (2007-07-08). "Northeastern corner of the Loop" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
  6. Google (2007-07-08). "Eastern part of the Loop" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
  7. Google (2007-07-08). "I-70 between the Loop and US 40" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
  8. Google (2007-07-08). "I-70 at I-435" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
  9. Google (2007-07-24). "I-70 at I-470" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2007-07-24.
  10. "I-70 at Route 7". Microsoft TerraServer. United States Geological Survey. 1996-02-28. Retrieved 2007-07-24.
  11. Google (2007-07-24). "I-70 at the Missouri River near Columbia" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2007-07-24.
  12. Google (2007-07-24). "I-70 at US 63" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2007-07-24.
  13. 1 2 "I-70 Reversibles To Remain Eastbound All Day" (Press release). Missouri Department of Transportation. 2009-01-21. Retrieved 2009-01-30.
  14. City leaders pitch local control of Arch grounds – St. Louis Post Dispatch – August 29, 2007
  15. Sharon A. Brown. "Jefferson National Expansion Administrative History". National Park Service. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  16. "New Mississippi River Bridge Project". Newriverbridge.org. 2011-08-18. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
  17. "The Facts". Improve I-70. Missouri Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2007-07-24.
  18. "What are the Benefits?". Improve I-70. Missouri Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2007-07-24.
  19. "Draft I-70 First Tier Environmental Impact Statement (FTEIS)" (PDF). Missouri Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2010-03-30.

Route map: Google

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Interstate 70
Previous state:
Kansas
Missouri Next state:
Illinois
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