Construction crews are back at work along Missouri’s Improve I-70 corridor after a pause over the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
The Missouri Department of Transportation’s $2.8 billion Improve I-70 program continues to advance, with five projects now under contract along the corridor. The project will eventually add a third lane in each direction on nearly 200 miles of Interstate 70 between Blue Springs and Wentzville.
Eric Kopinski, MoDOT’s Improve I-70 program director, said work is moving at a rapid pace across the state.
“Two million dollars worth of work is being completed every day. We have across the state 600 women and men working really hard every night, every day to make improvements,” Kopinski said. “When we’re complete in 2030, the corridor will be finished where we’re not coming back in two or three years. We’re going to be done and out of everybody’s hair.”
Drivers returning to I-70 work zones will also notice changes in central Missouri. One of the latest improvements is a new interchange and roundabout in Kingdom City.
Kopinski acknowledged that motorists may need time to adjust to the new traffic pattern but said the design is intended to improve traffic flow.
“It’s going to take a time or two to go through there before drivers can feel more comfortable,” he said. “But we’ve done our homework. It’s a very innovative interchange. When we remove the old bridges that are there later this winter and lake season’s done, that’s all going to make that interchange flow even better.”
MoDOT continues to urge drivers to slow down and pay attention in active work zones. Kopinski said the short-term inconvenience will lead to long-term benefits for travelers across Missouri.
“As we continue to make progress and get more of the features really across the state open, we think that everyday person is going to be really proud of, yeah, there were some work zone impacts, but this is a good investment that Missouri made because it made I-70 operate better for the next 70 years,” he said.
Meanwhile, the next phase of the project is moving forward. Contractors are competing for a $583 million project between Kingdom City and Warrenton, a stretch of about 43 miles. The contract is expected to be awarded in November, with construction potentially beginning in spring 2027.
Kopinski said the project would be one of the largest contracts MoDOT has ever awarded and a key piece of the broader effort to modernize Interstate 70 across Missouri.