COLUMBIA, Mo. – Construction is now underway along three stretches of Interstate 70 in Missouri as a $2.8 billion interstate improvement project continues.

In all, 200 miles of interstate will be updated and expanded, with three lanes of traffic going both ways from Blue Springs near Kansas City to Wentzville in St. Charles County.

“We now actively have projects taking place in the middle part of Missouri over on the St. Louis side and over in Kansas City,” Eric Kopinski, the program manager for the Improve I-70 Project, said. “We're going to keep the machine moving and really keep going with the improvements.

Kopinski said the Missouri Department of Transportation spent years crafting the right path forward for this multibillion-dollar project.

“(MoDOT) spent a considerable time looking at different scenarios on what's the best way, what's the most efficient way,” Kopinski said. “We really want to make sure we maximize these improvements to the best of our ability.”

Kopinski said dividing the entire project into multiple segments allowed for maximum competition among contractors as well as to ensure there was a workforce that was shovel ready.

Construction for the first phase began in 2024 between Columbia and Kingdom City.

The $405 million project involves a complete interstate makeover, including creating completely new interchanges at U.S. Highway 63 and U.S. Highway 54 as well as the new third lane. This stretch of interstate is expected to be finished by the end of 2027.

Construction continues on the largest project in MoDOT’s history: the $600 million reconstruction of Interstate 70 between Warrenton and Wentzville. This part of the overall project should be finished by late 2028.

Also underway, a $350 million contract to improve and expand Interstate 70 between Blue Springs and Odessa. This stretch looks to be completed by the end of 2028. The entire project is expected to be completed by 2030.