I-70's closure will add a lot of time for KC commuters
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If your commute takes you on I-70 in Kansas City, you're going to need a new route — and some extra time — next year.
Why it matters: 105,000 daily drivers will have to find a way around the fastest, most direct route to and from downtown, and transportation officials want them to take detours that add up to 21 minutes to a one-way trip.
Driving the news: The Missouri Department of Transportation held an open house on Tuesday, displaying project details including planned detours.
Zoom in: I-70 will close both directions between The Paseo near downtown and Van Brunt Boulevard, just west of the Truman Sports Complex.
- The closure is scheduled from January to December and will allow crews to work faster on building additional lanes and bridges.
By the numbers: MoDOT suggests two alternatives for commuters who drive on the stretch of road slated for closure.
- The 6.5-mile stretch of I-70 from I-435 to downtown takes about 7 minutes on a weekday morning, per Google Maps.
- Go north: I-435 to I-35 adds about 13 miles and 15 minutes.
- Go south: I-435 to U.S. 71 adds about 17 miles and 21 minutes.
Zoom out: On the Kansas side, folks living east of the Legends are asked to take I-635 north, I-29 and I-35 east, and I-435 south to get to the stadiums.
- Traffic passing through the metro will be rerouted onto I-435 around the metro's south side.
What they're saying: The detours "may add a few minutes, but it adds that reliability each and every day as they go in and out," MoDOT project manager James Pflumm tells Axios. "They all cannot use city streets."
- Instead of MoDOT making a bunch of different route options, he encourages drivers to use map apps to tell them the best daily route.
Yes, but: The official detours aren't necessarily the fastest: Map apps show faster routes that cut over from I-435 onto Truman Road and Independence Avenue.
- Assistant City Manager Jeff Martin says people will definitely self-detour onto city streets, but adds the city is not preemptively making any changes.
- He says the city will share access to its traffic signals with Operation Greenlight, a system that uses real-time traffic information to retime lights and reduce congestion.
- "It'll primarily be reactive because at this time, we don't know how much of that traffic increase we'll see," Martin says.
Reality check: Gas prices give drivers another incentive to find shortcuts, especially if rates remain high.
- Oil prices are expected to drop next year, but federal forecasts are creeping up as the Iran war stretches on.
The bottom line: MoDOT wants drivers to stay on the highways. Apps choosing the fastest routes may tell them otherwise.