MoDOT to close I-70 in Kansas City all of next weekend

Next weekend, the Missouri Department of Transportation plans to close a 7-mile stretch of Interstate 70 in the Kansas City area for an entire weekend.

MoDOT plans to close both directions of I-70 between I-435 and I-470/Highway 291 in the vicinity of Arrowhead and Kauffman stadiums. The closure will also include all ramps to and from I-70.

The closure begins at 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6 and continues until 5 a.m. Monday, Sept. 9.

I-70 will be reduced to one lane in each direction beginning at 7 p.m. Friday night until the full closure at 9 p.m. Ramps to and from the interstate will close at about 8 p.m.

To accommodate the highway closure:

• Eastbound I-70 will be reduced to one lane at Manchester Trafficway and traffic that has not already exited I-70 will be detoured off of I-70 at the ramp to southbound I-435.
• Westbound I-70 will be reduced to one lane before the Route 291/I-470 interchange. All traffic that has not already exited I-70 will be routed onto southbound Route 291/I-470.
• Southbound Route 291 just north of I-70 will be reduced to one lane to accommodate merging traffic from westbound I-70.

MoDOT is reconfiguring the Kansas City I-435 and I-70 Interchange. The project includes replacing bridges and ramps and removing left-lane exits.

This closure is for the demolition of the directional ramps from southbound I-435 to eastbound I-70 and northbound I-435 to westbound I-70. While I-70 is closed, MoDOT crews will complete other maintenance work, including lighting repairs, median barrier wall repairs, drainage work, and paving operations along I-70. All work is dependent on weather.

This new configuration will be a partial turbine. Work on the project began in March. The project is expected to take two years. The projected cost is $47 million.

Ramps from westbound I-70 to southbound I-435 and eastbound I-70 to northbound I-435 are closed and expected to reopen in December 2020.

The ramp from northbound I-435 to westbound I-70 are scheduled to close Sept. 5 and is expected to remain closed until new structures are completed in spring 2020.