Update: ‘Immense impact on traffic’ in Kansas City with 2-year project at I-70 & I-435
Update on revised schedule: The Missouri Department of Transportation announced Thursday that crews would close the loop ramp from eastbound Interstate 70 to northbound Interstate 435 as well as the ramp from eastbound Interstate 70 to Manchester Trafficway at 7 a.m. Sunday.
A heavily traveled highway interchange in Kansas City is about to get a makeover, and transportation officials are warning drivers to expect traffic headaches.
Crews will officially begin work next week on the interchange at Interstate 435 and Interstate 70 on Kansas City’s east side near the Truman Sports Complex. The construction is expected to have an “immense impact on traffic,” officials said.
The project is expected to take two years. It is meant to improve safety by removing left-hand exits that often cause drivers to make last-second lane changes. It will cost $47 million.
Before the work gets underway, crews on Thursday and Friday will close the right lane of eastbound Interstate 70 from 18th Street to Cleveland Avenue from 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. The closure will allow them to stage signs, equipment and detour routes.
“We understand that with this two-year-construction project, there will be significant impacts and some delays associated with our work,” said Matt Killion, area engineer with the Missouri Department of Transportation in Kansas City.
“However, we feel the safety improvements and the benefits we will see from this interchange project will greatly outweigh those inconveniences for the next two years.”
The project will require the loop ramps in the interchange to be closed until the project is completed in December 2020.
During the project, crews will replace the bridges in the interchange and reconfigure it to what is called a partial turbine design.
This design will allow the transportation department to remove the left-hand exits and make improvements to the loop ramps. It will also add a third lane to I-435 through the interchange.
“A left-hand exit is not a typical exit and in addition the lane ends at the exit,” Killion said. “If drivers aren’t used to the area, they may encounter some confusion and some last-minute lane changes.”
The new design will be more traditional with right-hand exits.
This is the first time that the transportation department has used this design in the Kansas City area.
“We’re confident this is the right interchange for the area and for the traffic that this interchange sees from day to day,” Killion said.
On Sunday, crews will have various lane closures along eastbound I-70 between Lister Avenue and I-435 between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Also on Sunday morning, crews will close the loop ramp from eastbound I-70 to northbound I-435. Traffic will detour using U.S. 40 at 31st Street to northbound I-435. The eastbound I-70 ramp to Manchester Trafficway will close at that time too.
On Monday, crews will close the ramps from Manchester Trafficway to eastbound and westbound I-70. These ramps remain closed until December 2020.
Tuesday, various lanes will be closed along northbound and southbound Manchester Trafficway so crews can reconfigure the off-ramps from I-70.
Wednesday night, crews will close the loop ramp from westbound I-70 to southbound I-435. Traffic will be detoured using westbound I-70 to Manchester Trafficway and then back on eastbound I-70 to southbound I-435.
On Thursday, crews will install temporary barriers along westbound I-70.
Drivers should anticipate various lane closures along I-70 and I-435 while crews close the ramps.
During the next two years, drivers should anticipate delays because of the project. About 120,000 vehicles per day pass through that interchange on I-70. Meanwhile, about 97,000 vehicles per day pass through that interchange on I-435, Killion said.
“The detours are fairly simple and straightforward,” Killion said. “We think there will be a period of adjustment, and things should then settle down as the work gets going full swing.”
The bridges are part of the original interstate system and were put in place when the interchange was built in the 1960s.
This story was originally published March 7, 2019 at 5:30 AM.
