Improve I-70 Project Missouri

[Plutonic Panda]

The I-70 and I-44 projects probably warrant their own thread and I'll create one for both. The Improve I-70 Project is a 2.8 billion dollar expansion and rebuild project to upgrade and expand I-70 through the entire state to be a minimum of 6 lanes with shoulders. I would hope median lighting will be included through the entire project but I'm not sure if that's going to happen or not.

Project webpage: https://www.modot.org/improvei70/home

Mileage Mike YouTube Video:

[Plutonic Panda]

The website says project completion is at the end of 2030 I'm not sure if they meant 2030s or the year 2030. If it is 2030 that seems pretty ambitious.

[hurricanehink]

While they're doing it, can they plan for a high-speed rail in the median from KC to St. Louis (with a stop in Columbia)? Sorry, I'll walk out the door and see my way to fictional highways infrastructure.

[Plutonic Panda]

I think if they would just upgrade the existing Amtrak segment to run average speeds of 85-110MPH and increase frequencies to 6x daily  minimum during weekdays that'd help out a lot. Is there even a dedicated STL to KC train?

[hurricanehink]

I think if they would just upgrade the existing Amtrak segment to run average speeds of 85-110MPH and increase frequencies to 6x daily  minimum during weekdays that'd help out a lot. Is there even a dedicated STL to KC train?

The Missouri River Runner has two daily round-trip AMTRAK lines, one of them continuing to Chicago as the Lincoln Service. The train takes 5 hours, 40 minutes, over 288 miles, for an average speed of 49.5 mph. That's with eight stops in total, including the bustling city of Hermann (population 2,200), and Jefferson City, meaning it goes decently far south of I-70.

For reference, I-70 is 248 miles, and would avoid cities like Washington, population 15,075, and known for being the corn cob pipe capital of the world. Meanwhile, much of I-70 has frontage roads on both sides, which would make construction easier. But I know these train-brained ideas are a rowdy subject on a road forum, so I cheer the one more lane crowd, bro

[Beltway]

Missouri's FY2024 budget from the General Assembly and signed into law by the governor provides $2.8 billion in General Revenue for the costs to plan, design, construct, reconstruct, rehabilitate and repair three lanes in each direction on nearly 200 miles of Interstate 70, from Blue Springs to Wentzville.
https://www.modot.org/improvei70/home
...
I don't know why they don't list the federal funding

[ChiMilNet]

Mileage Mike talking about this:

https://youtu.be/GZsSZGGzsF4?si=grx9rCydwmYtOaH8

[Plutonic Panda]

[Strider]

It sounds like I-70 will be 6 lanes through Columbia as well as the entire state?

[Plutonic Panda]

It sounds like I-70 will be 6 lanes through Columbia as well as the entire state?

Correct. The plan is to widen I-70 to a minimum of six lanes throughout the state and modernize it.

[ChiMilNet]

It sounds like I-70 will be 6 lanes through Columbia as well as the entire state?

Correct. The plan is to widen I-70 to a minimum of six lanes throughout the state and modernize it.

I give MoDOT a lot of credit, they seem to be prioritizing the busiest sections in this process. Columbia and then the exurbs of STL and KC. It will especially be good once the section through Columbia is done! That pedestrian bridge next to Providence Road is not all that old, and I am rather amazed that they didn't accommodate a for expansion when they built it. I guess nothing about some additional lighting through Columbia? And yes, I know MoDOT isn't known for adding much lighting in most places.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

2.8 billion for the entire route sounds like way too small of a price tag. I feel like something's not adding up. I thought I saw 12-15 billion quoted before, and that was in different economic times.

[Plutonic Panda]

6th project starting to move forward:

https://www.modot.org/node/91306

[webny99]

2.8 billion for the entire route sounds like way too small of a price tag. I feel like something's not adding up. I thought I saw 12-15 billion quoted before, and that was in different economic times.

Two major factors if I had to guess:
*Widening will likely use the existing median for most/all of the route.
*Most crossings are overpasses, so most bridges won't have to be replaced.

From the looks of things, they're not even shifting the lanes during construction.

[WisJohn]

2.8 billion for the entire route sounds like way too small of a price tag. I feel like something's not adding up. I thought I saw 12-15 billion quoted before, and that was in different economic times.

Two major factors if I had to guess:
*Widening will likely use the existing median for most/all of the route.
*Most crossings are overpasses, so most bridges won't have to be replaced.

From the looks of things, they're not even shifting the lanes during construction.

They are shifting on to the service roads now and then, which is kind of fun to drive IMO actually.

[Strider]

I can't remember which YouTube video I watched, but someone drove on I-70 when it shifts onto one of the service roads just east of Columbia. I will have to find the video... but it was interesting to watch.

But I will be on I-70 going through Missouri next month, so I get to experience it in real life.... lol

[mvak36]

https://www.modot.org/node/91306

MoDOT announces prequalified teams for sixth Improve I-70 project, Kingdom City to Warrenton
Projects
Improve I-70: Kingdom City to Warrenton

JEFFERSON CITY – The Missouri Department of Transportation has received Statements of Qualifications (SOQs) from the teams interested in competing for the contract to design and construct the sixth project of MoDOT's statewide Improve I-70 Program. Improve I-70: Kingdom City to Warrenton is a $583 million Design-Build project that will improve the 44-mile stretch of Interstate 70 from Kingdom City to Warrenton and is one of several projects which will widen the I-70 corridor across the state.

Missouri's FY2024 budget form the General Assembly signed into law by the governor provides $2.8 billion in General Revenue for the costs to build a third lane of Interstate 70 across the state. The program will plan, design, construct, reconstruct, rehabilitate, and add three lanes in each direction on approximately 200 miles of I-70, from Blue Springs to Wentzville.

The pre-qualified teams are as follows:

    Ames Construction
        Ames Construction, Parsons Engineering
    Improve 70 East Alliance
        Emery Sapp & Sons, Clarkson Construction Company, Wilson & Company, and Bartlett & West
    Millstone Weber Team
        Millstone Weber, Jacobs Engineering, and WSP
    Missouri Interstate Constructors
        William Charles Construction, Michels Road & Stone, Inc., KCI Construction, AECOM, and TYLin

MoDOT will issue the Request for Proposals in late June 2026 to these teams to work through development of their Design-Build proposals for the project. The department will work through the procurement process with these teams, who will submit their proposal for the potential selection of the winning contract in November 2026. Construction could start as early as Spring 2027. There are still opportunities for additional consultants and subcontracting firms to be added to each team.

Design-Build is a project delivery method that combines both the design and construction phases into one contract. The selected contract team completes the design and construction in parallel instead of in succession, which saves time and resources.

The project goals are as follows:

    Deliver the project by Dec. 31, 2030, within the program budget.
    Provide a third lane of travel for eastbound and westbound I-70 from Kingdom City to Warrenton.
    Modernize I-70 while improving pavement, bridges, and interchanges to provide better traffic flow and movement of freight.
    Minimize construction impacts with a focus on work zone safety, communication, and construction staging while maintaining mobility.
    Provide expanded employment opportunities while developing and using a diverse workforce.

Project Site: https://www.modot.org/projects/improvei70/kingdomcitywarrenton

[Gnutella]

https://www.modot.org/node/91306

MoDOT announces prequalified teams for sixth Improve I-70 project, Kingdom City to Warrenton
Projects
Improve I-70: Kingdom City to Warrenton

JEFFERSON CITY – The Missouri Department of Transportation has received Statements of Qualifications (SOQs) from the teams interested in competing for the contract to design and construct the sixth project of MoDOT's statewide Improve I-70 Program. Improve I-70: Kingdom City to Warrenton is a $583 million Design-Build project that will improve the 44-mile stretch of Interstate 70 from Kingdom City to Warrenton and is one of several projects which will widen the I-70 corridor across the state.

Missouri's FY2024 budget form the General Assembly signed into law by the governor provides $2.8 billion in General Revenue for the costs to build a third lane of Interstate 70 across the state. The program will plan, design, construct, reconstruct, rehabilitate, and add three lanes in each direction on approximately 200 miles of I-70, from Blue Springs to Wentzville.

The pre-qualified teams are as follows:

    Ames Construction
        Ames Construction, Parsons Engineering
    Improve 70 East Alliance
        Emery Sapp & Sons, Clarkson Construction Company, Wilson & Company, and Bartlett & West
    Millstone Weber Team
        Millstone Weber, Jacobs Engineering, and WSP
    Missouri Interstate Constructors
        William Charles Construction, Michels Road & Stone, Inc., KCI Construction, AECOM, and TYLin

MoDOT will issue the Request for Proposals in late June 2026 to these teams to work through development of their Design-Build proposals for the project. The department will work through the procurement process with these teams, who will submit their proposal for the potential selection of the winning contract in November 2026. Construction could start as early as Spring 2027. There are still opportunities for additional consultants and subcontracting firms to be added to each team.

Design-Build is a project delivery method that combines both the design and construction phases into one contract. The selected contract team completes the design and construction in parallel instead of in succession, which saves time and resources.

The project goals are as follows:

    Deliver the project by Dec. 31, 2030, within the program budget.
    Provide a third lane of travel for eastbound and westbound I-70 from Kingdom City to Warrenton.
    Modernize I-70 while improving pavement, bridges, and interchanges to provide better traffic flow and movement of freight.
    Minimize construction impacts with a focus on work zone safety, communication, and construction staging while maintaining mobility.
    Provide expanded employment opportunities while developing and using a diverse workforce.

Project Site: https://www.modot.org/projects/improvei70/kingdomcitywarrenton

I-70 badly needs a third lane on Mineola Hill.

[Ned Weasel]

https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/i-70-from-prospect-to-emanuel-cleaver-ii-to-be-closed-for-11-months-in-2027

The good news is, they're not adding a fourth westbound lane.

But the interesting part is they're practically doing an 11-month test run of freeway removal.  I'll be interested to see the resulting data from those 11 months, regarding changes to overall traffic volumes, which roads see traffic increases, time shifts, mode shifts, and pollution levels in neighborhoods surrounding the affected portion of I-70.

[Great Lakes Roads]

From MoDOT's Central District FB post:

GREAT NEWS: The new ramp directly connecting eastbound I-70 to southbound U.S. 63 is now OPEN.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A major milestone has been reached in reconfiguring the Interstate 70/U.S. Route 63 interchange in Columbia, with the opening of the first new 'direct connect' ramp this afternoon, Friday, Aug. 21, 2026

Opening much earlier than the original end-of-the-year completion date, the new ramp allows for direct access from eastbound I-70 to southbound U.S 63. This new connection is designed to improve the flow of traffic and reduce congestion at the Connector.

[Sani]

Looking through the old Tier I and Tier II documents, I found this from the Tier II Section 4: Project Alternatives kind of funny. The way they're widening I-70 through Columbia was eliminated from consideration because it didn't do enough to fix congestion:

Basic Widening Concept

The basic widening concept (Exhibit II-4) can be thought of as a minimum Build scenario. It consists of expanding the through lanes on I-70 and reconstructing the existing interchanges. Most improvements would be made within the existing right of way. The basic widening concept would maintain the existing freeway, frontage roads and access patterns. Interchanges may be upgraded only to the extent that they can be within the existing right of way. This could include realignment of termini in compliance with MoDOT access management guidelines. The frontage road system would remain essentially the same, although some realignment may be necessary to accommodate the new roadway width and interchange upgrades.

...

Basic Widening

Overall, the basic widening concept received seven positives, 15 neutrals and 11 negatives.

The basic widening concept received few positives. It received more negative purpose and need ratings than positive. For these reasons, it was concluded that the basic widening concept did not provide enough benefit to satisfy the project's purpose and need. The additional through lanes would be beneficial, but the concept does almost nothing else to address the project's other transportation needs. The limited construction associated with the basic widening accounts for its failure to satisfy the project's purpose and need. This also led to the concept's more positive aspects: It had the lowest construction cost, the lowest right of way acquisition needs and few relocations.

Another shortcoming of the basic widening concept is the fact that it allows the existing system of discontinuous frontage roads to remain. The increase in traffic volume expected to occur over the design life of the project would render that network so ineffective as to make it a serious hindrance.

...

c. Conclusions of the Preliminary Concept Evaluation

Based on the preliminary concept evaluation, the basic widening and stacked section concepts were eliminated from further consideration.

The basic widening concept would not even minimally satisfy the project's purpose and need. It has no provisions for accommodating the various traffic streams that use I-70, it fails to provide adequate access to the city of Columbia, it cannot comply with MoDOT access management guidelines and it does nothing to manage truck traffic. Thus, basic widening is not a reasonable concept for improving I-70 within SIU 4.

I realize they are taking some additional right-of-way for interchange expansions, but it's still far from the design they recommended.

[Plutonic Panda]

Hopefully, they include a future expansion to 10 lanes.

[roadman65]

I read that in Wentzville that they already started on the project to eliminate the railroad overpass while realigning the freeway through the city west of I-64/ US 61.


The last GSV pass in November of 25, shows this.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/MUAmcpTdXDDercFo6?g_st=ac

So already they are in progress and looks like the realignment will be where they proposed it would be to the south.  I also see the NS Railway overpass is substandard in height which also warrants its removal.

So glad to see they are addressing the need for improvements along the cross Missouri corridor.  I've driven that three times and it needs improvement instead of using the pre interstate freeway ( or expressway) grade that it obviously is.

[Plutonic Panda]

Not sure if this was part of the original project or not but nonetheless it is something to improve I 70 in Missouri. More truck parking is coming.

https://fox2now.com/news/missouri/modot-begins-33-million-project-to-improve-i-70-truck-parking/