Ingrams August 2023

I-70 INFRASTRUCTURE

Among other findings by TRIP: n Completion of the nation’s in terstate system—including the 260 miles of I-70 in Missouri that ac count for nearly 12 percent of that roadway’s 2,172 miles—lowered the cost of moving freight from 16 per cent of U.S. GDP to 8 percent in 2018. n U.S. counties within 20 miles of an interstate grow much faster than others outside those corridors: By 2060, it’s estimated, they will grow roughly seven times the outsid ers—36 percent, vs. 5 percent). n Travel times between destina tions throughout the U.S. have been sharply reduced. That, TRIP says, has given Americans greater choices about where they live, work, shop and spend their leisure time. A final point worth noting, according to St. Louis Regional Freight- way, is that carriers on I-70 haul 100 million tons of freight each year, valued at $154 billion. Roughly 30 million tons of that is just passing through Missouri, as is the majority of valuation, nearly $93 billion.

same time delays they face on four lane infrastructures. Which begs the question: If Missouri is going to grow, wouldn’t inaction further exacerbate the challenges it has with traffic flows today? The answer to that question lies 500 miles to the northeast: Any one who has witnessed the “flow” of traffic in and around Chicago knows the opportunity cost of freight sig nificantly delayed by unending traf fic jams. Just as anyone who has taken I-70 east from Blue Springs or west from Wentzville knows that the next 188 miles of high-speed travel will require additional diligence behind the wheel, navigating an endless stream of 18-wheelers and construc tion delays before reaching the relief of six lanes of pavement, or more, on the approaches to Kansas City and St. Louis. For them, 2031 can’t come soon enough: That’s the earliest projected completion date for a six-lane I-70, assuming actual construction, as projected, begins in 2024.

More than simply connecting the state’s two major centers of com merce—Kansas City on the west and St. Louis on the east—I-70 provides links to a number of vital commer cial corridors serving other parts of the state and, eventually, other states throughout the Midwest. Among them are I-35 in Kansas City, dubbed the nation’s Super highway linking Mexico to the Great Lakes and Canada; I-49 from Kansas City south to the Gulf region in Loui siana; and just across the Mississippi River from Saint Louis, I-55 to Chica go, Memphis, and New Orleans, and I-64 to Nashville and connections to the southeastern United States. Making a Difference Numerous studies have suggest ed that simply adding a lane to long stretches of interstates will provide short-term relief from traffic conges tion. But increased economic activ ity spurred by access to a six-lane highway will eventually increase traffic to the point where motor ists and carriers will experience the

The I-70 Plan

Awarded - $271 million STIP Funded - $236 million General Revenue - $2.8 billion Needed Capacity Improvements Blue Springs to Wentzville

Additional Capacity Improvements Kansas City and St. Louis

Awarded - $709 million STIP Funded - $274 million

St. Louis Suburban

$278 million St. Louis

Kansas City Suburban

Kansas City

Warrenton to Wentzville

Buck O'Neil Bridge $257 million

I-270

Blue Springs to Odessa

Western Rural Odessa to Midway

Eastern Rural

20 miles

19 miles

Chain of Rocks $112 million

Route Z to Warrenton

$0 $32 million $216 million

$0

Paseo to I-435 $145 million Blue Ridge Boulevard $6 million

Columbia

83 miles

Cave Springs to Fairgrounds $62 million

60 miles

$6 million $233 million

Midway to Route Z

I-70/I-64 $77 million I-70/U.S. 67 $46 million

$240 million Rocheport Bridge

$31 million $13 million

13 miles

$0

$0

$796 million

$1.1 billion

$185 million

Environmental near completion 1.1 million jobs depend on I-70

$410 million

Workforce development opportunities I-70 carries 100 million tons of freight

13

DestinationMissouri.com

Missouri’s Business Media

2023