State leaders broke ground on a transformative project that will expand I-70 to three lanes and further position Missouri as a national – and global – logistics leader.
On June 13, 2024, Gov. Mike Parson, elected officials, MoDOT leaders, the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission and members of the Millstone Weber contractor team took part in a ceremonial groundbreaking in Columbia.
Construction will start in July on the first phase of Missouri’s Improve I-70 Program. It will add an additional lane to I-70 in each direction between U.S. Route 63 in Columbia and Route 54 in Kingdom City. The project also incorporates $123 million in previously programmed MoDOT projects to improve the I-70 interchanges at both Route 63 and Route 54.
“Today’s I-70 groundbreaking kicks off a historic, once-in-a-generation investment that will benefit Missouri businesses, commuters and tourists alike for decades to come,” Sen. Lincoln Hough, the Missouri Senate Appropriations Chair, said. “I was happy to lead this project’s development in the General Assembly and work with Gov. Parson to lead the nation in large scale infrastructure development. Expanding I-70 to six lanes has been needed for decades. It has been talked about for decades. Today, decades of talk turns to action. This project is pro-infrastructure, pro-business, pro-jobs, and, above all, pro-Missouri.”
The Missouri Chamber strongly supports this investment in Missouri’s major east-west artery.
I-70 is the oldest of Missouri’s interstate highways with portions built in 1956. The corridor is vital to the global supply chains for many industries, and 84 percent of respondents surveyed in the Missouri Chamber CEO poll supported leveraging state and federal funds to increase its capacity.
“I-70 is one of Missouri’s oldest and most vital corridors. The safety and economic prosperity of Missourians depends on an interstate that grows along with the state and nation,” Gov. Parson said. “We could not be more proud that the work we’re commemorating here today will continue serving Missourians for generations to come.”
This phase of construction is expected to be complete in late 2027.
