FORISTELL, Mo.— Missouri Gov. Mike Parson and others gathered at a weigh station on Interstate 70 Monday to celebrate the $2.8B in the state’s 2024 budget that will see the highway widened to three lanes in both directions for the 200 miles between Wentzville and Blue Springs.
Parson held a ceremonial bill signing for House Bill 4 that authorized the project. Parson had proposed adding the third lanes in the St. Louis, Columbia and Kansas City areas before state lawmakers instead chose to make it a statewide move between Missouri’s two largest suburban regions.
Monday’s ceremony came almost 67 years to the date—Aug. 13, 1956– when work began in St. Charles County on the interstate highway system. Whether it was the first project nationally is still a matter of some historical debate between Missouri, Kansas and Pennsylvania.
“Missouri was a leader in 1956 when the interstate that connects America was built. When President Eisenhower predicted that its impact on the American economy, the jobs it would produce in manufacturing and construction, the rural areas it would open up, was beyond calculation,” said Linda Moen, President and owner of EFK Moen, a St. Louis area civil engineering firm. “Adding a third lane to I 70 across the entire state will be an improvement to our state's highway system, it will create jobs to benefit our communities for generations.”
The widening project will take the next five to seven years to finish and is currently in the planning stages. The Missouri Department of Transportation will hold a series of public meetings starting later this month with an event in Wentzville to get public feedback.
“This is without a doubt the key to the future not only of St. Charles County but of this entire region,” said St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlmann. “You know I've been saying for years that St. Louis is the Gateway to the West and if you want to go west of St. Louis, you've gotta squeeze under a railroad track on two lanes of traffic that backs up for miles and miles every afternoon, and that's something that if not taken care of, is going to hold us back.”
“I will tell you in today's world, the time we're in right now, when you talk about the economic side of it, the safety side of it, just all the things that will go with I-70, the new I-70 will be another point in history where we're gonna start doing something we always talked about doing for years,” Parson said.
MoDOT’s schedule of statewide open house meetings for the project are as follows:
Monday, Aug. 28, 2023, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. – Wentzville City Hall Board of Alderman Meeting Room located at 1001 Schroeder Creek Boulevard, Wentzville, MO.
Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. – Warren County Administration Building located at 101 Mockingbird Lane, Warrenton, MO.
Wednesday, Aug. 30, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. – Concordia Community Center located at 802 S. Gordon Street, Concordia, MO.
Thursday, Aug. 31, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Jonesburg Elementary School Gym located 106 Smith Rd., Jonesburg, MO.
Tuesday, Sept. 5, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. – Jackson County Fire Protection District Education Center located at 4715 W U.S. 40 Highway, Blue Springs, MO.
Wednesday, Sept. 6, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. – Battle High School Auxiliary Gym, located at 7575 St. Charles, Rd., Columbia, MO.
Thursday, Sept. 7, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. – Hannah Cole Primary School Gym, located at 1700 W. Ashley Rd., Boonville, MO.
The public can also comment through an online form.