This is the weekend a 7-mile stretch of I-70 closes on east side of Kansas City metro
Got your plans ready for how you’ll get around the east side of the Kansas City metro area? This is the weekend that the Missouri Department of Transportation will shut down a portion of Interstate 70 in that area.
The heavily traveled highway will completely close in both directions for the weekend beginning Friday night as part of the makeover of the I-70 and I-435 interchange, according to the Kansas City District of the Missouri Department of Transportation. During the closure, crews will demolish old I-435 bridges over I-70.
Plans call for the westbound lanes of I-70 to close at Missouri 291/Interstate 470/Interstate 70 interchange. A detour will send drivers south and then west on I-470 to northbound I-435 to I-70.
The eastbound lanes of I-70 will close at I-435. A detour will send drivers south on I-435 to east and then north I-470 to I-70.
The closure is expected to have major impact on traffic. Drivers will have to follow the suggested detours using I-470 and I-435 or find alternate routes, the transportation said in a news release.
The work is expected to be completed by Monday morning.
Here’s what to expect
Crews will begin reducing lanes on westbound I-70 between the Missouri Missouri 291/Interstate 470/Interstate 70 interchange and eastbound I-70 at I-435 about 8 p.m. Friday.
All the on-ramps along westbound I-70 will begin closing about an hour later. Ramps to westbound I-70 from Missouri 291/I-470, Lee’s Summit Road, Noland Road, U.S. 40 highway and Blue Ridge Cutoff will be closed. The westbound I-70 ramp to Manchester Trafficway will also close.
The ramps from southbound Missouri 291/I-470 and Manchester Trafficway to eastbound I-70 will close at that time too.
At 10 p.m., I-70 in both directions will close. The highway is expected to reopen by 5 a.m. Monday.
While the highway is closed, the ramp from northbound I-435 to eastbound I-70 will close at 5 a.m. Saturday for pavement repairs. The ramp will reopen about 5 p.m. Saturday.
The work is part of the ongoing two-year, $47 million project to reconfigure the interchange into a partial turbine interchange. The design allows the transportation to remove left-hand exits and make improvements to the loop ramps.
Construction began in March 2019 and is scheduled to be completed by December.
This story was originally published February 20, 2020 at 7:40 AM.
