‘Is this a joke?’ Kansas Citians concerned about months-long closure of I-70
In just a few short months, Kansas Citians who frequent parts of Interstate 70 will need to find another route, and residents on social media had a lot to say about it.
The Missouri Department of Transportation announced that it will shut down a major 3-mile stretch of I-70 from Prospect Avenue to Van Brunt Boulevard from January to December 2027. This portion of the Improve I-70 KC project will last 11 months, MoDOT says.
MoDOT said that they chose to go with a complete closure and not staggered stages of construction to speed up the process, minimizing “overall inconvenience to motorists and the local community.”
On MoDOT’s FAQ page, they call the closure “necessary” to ensure reliability of travel and to improve safety of pedestrians and motorists. Construction will add a lane to the highway, address rainwater drainage issues, and improve pedestrian and bicycle facilities.
Some questioned the timeline, expecting the 11 months to take a lot longer.
“No need to fear that 11 month project. Those 18 months will end up being the best 3 years of our lives,” said one user on X/Twitter.
“Don’t worry guys, that 11 months will go by in a swift 16 months and it will be the best 23 months we spent improving our roads,” one comment said on Facebook.
“By 11 months we mean….indefinitely!” added another Facebook user.
“Excited for my grandkids to have the opportunity to watch i70 re-open,” a Twitter user said.
“Kalshi taking bets? Guarantee it gets finished close to 1.5 years than it does 11 months. Lol,” a Facebook comment on MoDOT’s page said.
Residents who work around downtown Kansas City shared their concerns about what it means for their morning and afternoon drives to the office.
This is going to be an absolute nightmare, and I can’t even hardly figure out all of the paths that people will take to get around,” a Facebook user said. “When this happens companies all around downtown need to let their employees work remote just like during Covid.
“Is this a joke? What on earth about downtown employees?” one Facebook comment read.
“I work downtown and am vehemently opposed to this plan,” another Facebook comment said. “Hire contractors who aren’t as slow as the ones you’ve got now, and do this in 6 months, maximum.”
Others compared it to recent construction on highways in the St. Louis area.
“They completely closed I-40/64 in St. Louis from 270- downtown for almost a year and we got around just fine!” said a user on Facebook.
“St Louis did something not entirely dissimilar with a big stretch of 64-40,” a Reddit comment said. “I recall the public essentially had the option between many years of segmented closures or less than a year of complete closure so work could get done quicker - or something like that.
“They went with complete closure. Businesses staggered their start times and side routes were a nightmare but it actually got done ahead of schedule”
“I hope they ain’t using the same people who re did 270 in St. Louis,” a Facebook comment said. “If so y’all are screwed. Get ready for them to call the job complete and still have rumble strips cutting thru the middle of the lanes years later.”
