The Missouri Department of Transportation says it’s about 15% finished with its project to expand Interstate 70 to three lanes in both directions.
Improve I-70 Director Eric Kopinski said that includes the completion of seven miles of pavement. That’s out of 195 total miles.
“From the general citizen's perspective, you're saying, ‘They haven't really completed a ton of work.’ But with projects of these sizes, the hardest part is always getting started, getting contracts awarded, procuring material, completing the final design,” he said.
Kopinski said that in the next 18 months, he thinks the construction progress will quickly increase. He also said the Improve I-70 project is currently both on time and on budget.
“A huge element of that is our contracting and consultant industry that we've awarded these projects to that are simply delivering for the citizens of Missouri,” Kopinski said.
One of the goals of this project is to keep as much of the interstate open and to minimally affect traffic while giving contractors enough room to work.
Kopinski said that has led to the work zones that include narrower lanes and reduced speed limits. He said the biggest challenge remains keeping workers safe, and that issue includes drivers not adhering to the reduced speeds.
“As we get better compliance it helps us do our jobs easier into a better quality. So that continued outreach will happen throughout the duration of I-70,” Kopinski said.
One of the ways MODOT is combating those higher speeds is the placement of temporary concrete barriers along those zones. MODOT is also working with law enforcement to try to slow down travelers. That includes the Missouri Highway Patrol.
Andrew Gadberry of the patrol said there are several driving issues within the construction zones.
“There are a lot of people who are just exceeding the posted speed limit. We're seeing a lot of drivers being distracted, driving with their phone either talking on it or texting, and then with semis driving in the left lane when there's signage stating they should be in the right lane only,” Gadberry said.
Gadberry said one area that was seeing issues, in part because the lanes were narrower, was a stretch of road eastbound between Warrenton and Wright City.
“We had a lot of crashes in that one area over a couple weeks’ time, and MoDOT and Clarkson [Construction] found out about it. We worked with them, they worked with us, and they made several different changes to try to get it figured out, and where it's at now, it’s working,” Gadberry said.
In response to the speeding through construction zones, Gadberry said the Highway Patrol is tackling the problem in several ways, including extra patrols.
“We've got overtime funds allocated for it to where we're either having troopers do active enforcement, but we've also been doing passive enforcement, where they sit like at the beginning or halfway through the construction zone, just with their lights on to hopefully get people to see that and slow down,” Gadberry said.
He said there has been an increase of pullovers in these zones, but that can’t be the only thing the Highway Patrol focuses on.
“We do have to also take care of the rest of the roadways in the counties and have to respond to accidents and other issues throughout the counties,” Gadberry said.
The winter months can mark a shutdown in construction work, but Kopinski said Missouri works differently.
“It's kind of a day-by-day situation where our contractors are very closely monitoring temperatures and wind conditions and all the different factors to see what elements of work we can complete,” Kopinski said.
However, Kopinski also said there will be a slowdown as Missouri experiences harsher winter conditions like snow and cold temperatures.
Construction to expand I-70 began in 2024, with the first section covering the stretch of highway between Columbia and Kingdom City. Since then, MODOT has expanded its construction work to two more sections of the interstate as well as awarded the contract for another.
The other sections under construction are between Wentzville and Warrenton and between Blue Springs and Odessa.
Initially, the work was supposed to be split into six sections of highway. Since then, the work was divided further to a total of total of eight sections, leaving four more contracts to be awarded.
Kopinski said the department looks at three components when evaluating contracts. One of those is what the project entails.
“From an engineering standpoint, who's got the most and best pavement, who can replace the most bridges. So where are you going to leave us when we're done?” Kopinski said.
The other two components are minimizing traffic disruptions and workforce development.
Funding for the project, which is estimated to cost around $2.8 billion, was approved by the Missouri legislature in 2023. The entire I-70 expansion is slated to be completed at the end of 2030.
