San Francisco's notorious traffic woes are set to get a little bit of a shuffle to the east as MoDOT begins rehab work on U.S. Route 63. Starting today, drivers navigating through Columbia will need to adjust to a new traffic pattern. The head-to-head traffic configuration on U.S. Route 63 is being extended northward past the I-70 interchange due to bridge rehabilitation efforts.
The current one-lane configuration, which has been in place between the Broadway overpass and the Conley Road underpass, will now be stretching further. All traffic on U.S. Route 63, from Broadway south of I-70 to Vandiver Drive north of it, will be required to quickly adapt to using the southbound lanes, now narrowed to a single lane in both directions.
According to MoDOT's announcement, southbound motorists won't see much change, but those heading north will experience a bit of a mix-up. "Northbound motorists continuing north on U.S. Route 63 will need to remain in the left lane between the Broadway overpass and the Conley underpass," states the official report. The right lane, in this stretch, will convert to exit-only access to the I-70/U.S. Route 63 connector.
Despite the construction, MoDOT has made it clear that all ramps for entering and exiting U.S. Route 63 should stay open for business. Of course, the progress of work is at the mercy of the weather, with potential changes afoot should the skies decide to not hastily cooperate. This adjustment is part of a larger strategy to improve Missouri's infrastructure. A whopping $2.8 billion from the state's FY2024 budget is set to go towards adding a new lane on nearly 200 miles of I-70, spanning from Blue Springs to Wentzville.
The current construction is just the inaugural phase in a grand scheme to reconstruct I-70/U.S. Route 63 interchange—an ambitious section of MoDOT’s Statewide Improve I-70 Program aimed at transforming the highway experience across Missouri.
