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Interstate 70 in Missouri
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Interstate 70 in Missouri
Interstate 70 (I-70) in the US state of Missouri is generally parallel to the Missouri River. This section of the transcontinental interstate stretches from the Kansas state line on the Lewis and Clark Viaduct, running concurrently with U.S. Route 24 (US 24), US 40 and US 169, to the east end on the Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge in St. Louis.
Crossing into Missouri from Kansas, I-70 immediately encounters the Downtown Loop, also called the Alphabet Loop, a small but complex loop of freeways with all of its exits having the number 2 and a letter suffix that uses the entire alphabet (except I and O). I-70 runs concurrently with I-35 once it enters into the Loop. Both Interstates maintain the concurrency until they approach the northeastern corner of the loop. 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 in the loop's northeastern corner. At that corner, I-29 ends, and US 71 joins.
Once it leaves I-35, I-70 turns south, with interchanges to more roads. At the southeastern corner, I-70, US 40, US 24, and US 71 all exit the loop. I-70, US 40, and US 24 split off to the east, and US 71 continues south. I-670 ends at the alignment. Not long after they usurp that alignment, I-70/US 40/US 24 turn southeast. US 40 departs from I-70 at exit 7A. I-70 and US 24 then interchanges with I-435, the beltway around the Kansas City metropolitan area. US 24 departs from I-70 exit 8B and heads north following I-435.
While passing through Kansas City, I-70 is known as the George Brett Super Highway, named after George Brett, the Kansas City Royals’ all-time hits, home runs and runs batted in (RBI) leader, former third baseman and first baseman, and National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee. The Truman Sports Complex, which is named after Harry Truman, houses the Royals' and Kansas City Chiefs' stadiums and is located adjacent to the I-70/I-435 interchange.
East of I-435, I-70 continues east through Independence, the Kansas City Metro Area's largest suburb by both population and area on the Missouri side, passing a busy cloverleaf interchange at I-470. 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. 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 midsized college town of Columbia in the center of the state. 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. 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.
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 annual average daily traffic (AADT) counts approaching 165,000 in 2005.
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Interstate 70 in Missouri
Interstate 70 (I-70) in the US state of Missouri is generally parallel to the Missouri River. This section of the transcontinental interstate stretches from the Kansas state line on the Lewis and Clark Viaduct, running concurrently with U.S. Route 24 (US 24), US 40 and US 169, to the east end on the Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge in St. Louis.
Crossing into Missouri from Kansas, I-70 immediately encounters the Downtown Loop, also called the Alphabet Loop, a small but complex loop of freeways with all of its exits having the number 2 and a letter suffix that uses the entire alphabet (except I and O). I-70 runs concurrently with I-35 once it enters into the Loop. Both Interstates maintain the concurrency until they approach the northeastern corner of the loop. 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 in the loop's northeastern corner. At that corner, I-29 ends, and US 71 joins.
Once it leaves I-35, I-70 turns south, with interchanges to more roads. At the southeastern corner, I-70, US 40, US 24, and US 71 all exit the loop. I-70, US 40, and US 24 split off to the east, and US 71 continues south. I-670 ends at the alignment. Not long after they usurp that alignment, I-70/US 40/US 24 turn southeast. US 40 departs from I-70 at exit 7A. I-70 and US 24 then interchanges with I-435, the beltway around the Kansas City metropolitan area. US 24 departs from I-70 exit 8B and heads north following I-435.
While passing through Kansas City, I-70 is known as the George Brett Super Highway, named after George Brett, the Kansas City Royals’ all-time hits, home runs and runs batted in (RBI) leader, former third baseman and first baseman, and National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee. The Truman Sports Complex, which is named after Harry Truman, houses the Royals' and Kansas City Chiefs' stadiums and is located adjacent to the I-70/I-435 interchange.
East of I-435, I-70 continues east through Independence, the Kansas City Metro Area's largest suburb by both population and area on the Missouri side, passing a busy cloverleaf interchange at I-470. 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. 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 midsized college town of Columbia in the center of the state. 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. 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.
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 annual average daily traffic (AADT) counts approaching 165,000 in 2005.
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