Detour warning: Construction closes I-70 as crews begin 3-year project
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Drivers heading toward downtown may need to allow some extra time for the next three years.
Crews with the Missouri Department of Transportation closed Interstate 70 just before 23rd Street over the weekend to demolish the 23rd Street bridge.
A detour for traffic on 23rd Street will direct traffic north to 18th Street using Indiana Ave. and Cleveland Ave. The new bridge is expected to open sometime in November.
Traffic on I-70 is also impacted because of the construction. Sunday, drivers will be forced to take the 23rd Street exit and then get back onto I-70.
The configuration will change again around 5 a.m. Monday morning.
Monday, May 5 at approximately 5 a.m.
- Lanes re-open on I-70 and new traffic configuration begins
- Left lane closed on I-70 EB from 18th St. to Cleveland Ave (through July 2025)
- Left lane closed on I-70 WB from 27th St. to north of 23rd St. (through July 2025)
- 23rd St. closed from Indiana Ave. to Monroe Ave (through Nov. 2025); a signed detour will be in place; local access will be maintained for residents
- Access from Askew Ave to 23rd St. will be closed (through Nov. 2025); a signed detour will be in place; local access will be maintained for residents
- Exit and entrance ramps for I-70 EB and WB will be closed (through Nov. 2025); a signed detour will be in place
The construction is part of the $237 million “Improve I-70 KC” project. The project is a five-mile stretch of I-70 from The Paseo Blvd. to 31st Street.
Crews will work on a total of 26 bridges and 12 interchanges in the area before the project is complete in December 2028.
MoDOT said that section of the interstate was built in the early 1960s. As many as 120,000 vehicles drive through that stretch of kansas City every day.
More information about the project and detours that are coming is available through MoDOT.
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