Bay Area commuters, take note: the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) is initiating a lane closure that could signal a slow burn towards potential traffic headaches. Starting Friday, the left lane of westbound Interstate 70 from the St. Charles County line up to Wentzville Parkway will be inaccessible from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. on consecutive nights, Friday and Saturday, according to Missouri Department of Transportation. This temporary closure is a prelude to the expansion of I-70 — a thoroughfare familiar to many for its midwestern stretches, linking cities and towns, suffused with the to-and-fro of cross-country traffic.
The midnight oil will burn for MoDOT crews, as they work to shore up the median shoulder before embarking on a larger project to add an additional lane. Following the shoulder enhancements, drivers will notice a shift in the westbound lanes between the Foristell Weigh Station and Wentzville Parkway. During this phase, right lane closures will occur nightly within the same 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. timeframe. By crack of dawn, the traffic will be corralled into narrower lanes, hemmed in by barrier walls along the right shoulder.
The lane additions and ensuing construction are part of a larger mission, dubbed the Improve I-70 Warrenton to Wentzville Project. The project, awarded in November 2024, is slated to span over four years, culminating in 2028. The goal is bold: to enhance an essential artery of Missouri's transportation network by infusing it with new life in the form of added lanes — a veritable widening of its circulatory capacity.
The financial fuel for this infrastructure endeavor comes from Missouri's FY2024 budget which allocated a robust $2.8 billion in General Revenue for I-70's expansion. This fiscal injection by the state, is meant to yield a third lane in each direction on the interstate, effectively stretching from Blue Springs to Wentzville. It's a plan that touches almost 200 miles of concrete and soil — a considerable span by any measure.
