I-70 Kansas City closure: MoDOT to shut 3 miles both ways from Jan. 11 to mid-December 2027

The closure is part of the $237 million Improve I-70 Kansas City project, Land Line reported. About 100,000 vehicles use the corridor every day, according to MoDOT. Crews will add a fourth eastbound through lane, replace the mainline bridges and rebuild the interstate at Benton Boulevard and Jackson Avenue. MoDOT's Sept. 22 release says the Jan. 11 start depends on the weather.

Regional traffic passing through Kansas City on I-70 will be routed on a loop south of the closure using I-435 and I-470, MoDOT says, and Kansas City Scout message boards on both the Missouri and Kansas sides will point drivers to it. Trucks are to stay on the interstates instead of cutting through neighborhood streets, Land Line reported. For trips inside the metro, MoDOT lists I-35, I-29, I-435, I-635 and US-71. Its suggested route from western suburbs such as Bonner Springs to Independence and Blue Springs runs I-435 south and east to I-470, then north to rejoin I-70.

MoDOT says a full closure finishes the job about a year sooner than staged work. Its traffic models showed that keeping one westbound lane open would cut peak speeds below 20 mph, with delays of about 50 minutes. Nearly all streets that cross I-70 are to stay open. The agency's closure page does not give added miles or travel times for the truck detour.