Construction traffic at Arrowhead: What fans can expect at Chiefs games until 2020
Fans headed to Arrowhead Stadium during football season will need to have a game plan to deal with traffic and construction at the interchange of Interstates 70 and 435, officials said Tuesday.
The first taste of the detours and delays will come with Saturday’s preseason game at 7 p.m. between the Kansas City Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals.
To accommodate the anticipated “immense traffic volumes” to and from the stadium, crews on game days will open up the interchange at I-70 and Manchester Trafficway to help ease traffic congestion.
“As work progresses on our $47 million project to improve the interchange, ramp closures and associated detours associated with the construction will affect how fans get to Arrowhead this season,” said Matt Killion, area engineer with the Kansas City district of the Missouri Department of Transportation.
“This will ease traffic into the stadium, but all ramps will be closed once again to accommodate construction on all other days,” Killion said.
Prior to the regular season, there will be some additional ramp closures that will affect how fans get to Arrowhead, he said.
“Traffic on game days is expected to be significant,” Killion said. “It’s important for fans who have not experienced the work zone to plan ahead, check their routes and that will help them avoid delays and frustrations.”
The project is important, the transportation department said, because it is replacing bridges and making safety improvements. The work is expected to be completed by December 2020.
To help people plan their game day routes, MoDOT has an interactive map on its website at modot.org/i-435-and-i-70-interchange.
Here’s what to expect:
Fans coming from northbound I-435:
▪ There will be no new detours.
▪ For Gates 3 and 4, drivers should take northbound I-435 to eastbound I-70 and use Blue Ridge Cutoff at Exit 9.
▪ For Gates 5 and 6, drivers should use Stadium Drive/Raytown Road at Exit 63C.
Fans coming from southbound I-435:
▪ There will be detours.
▪ For Gates 3 and 4, drivers should take U.S. 40 to Blue Ridge Cutoff at exit 63A
▪ For Gates 5 and 6, drivers should take southbound I-435 to westbound I-70. Exit at Manchester Trafficway (Exit 7B) and then head south on Manchester to Raytown Road/Stadium Drive.
Fans coming from westbound I-70:
▪ There will be no new detours.
▪ For Gates 3 and 4, drivers should use Blue Ridge Cutoff at Exit 9.
▪ For Gates 5 and 6, drivers should use Manchester Road at Exit 7B
Fans from eastbound I-70:
▪ There will be no new detours.
▪ For Gates 3 and 4, drivers should use Blue Ridge Cutoff at Exit 9.
▪ For Gates 5 and 6, drivers should use Manchester Road at Exit 7B.
For those not attending the game, but passing through the area along northbound I-435 wanting to go west, or on southbound I-435 wanting to go east, here are the recommended detours:
From southbound I-435 to eastbound I-70:
Drivers will follow southbound I-435 and take the exit to westbound I-70. From there, they need to exit at Manchester Trafficway, turn left and then loop back around to eastbound I-70.
From northbound I-435 to westbound I-70:
Drivers will follow northbound I-435 to 23rd Street/Missouri 78, turn left and loop back to southbound I-435. From there, drivers will be able to exit to westbound I-70.
“It’s going to be different,” Chiefs president Mark Donovan said. He said the Chiefs have been working with transportation officials and local law enforcement to make game days as efficient as they possibly can.
“You never want to have a project like this impact a season, but the reality is that with a project this large, it is going to impact every season for the next few years,” Donovan said.
Officials plan to study how traffic is affected by the construction and how fans react. Based on that, they will make adjustments where they can for future game days.
Some routes will be impacted more than others. Game day traffic could also impact other routes, too.
“Your normal route may not look like it will be impacted by construction, but because of other people finding other ways, you may be impacted,” Donovan said.
“Just be patient, have a plan, try to get here a little earlier normal. Our first test is Saturday and we’re excited to host the Bengals and kick this season off with our first preseason game.”
This story was originally published August 6, 2019 at 12:40 PM.