AASHTO Journal - MoDOT Breaks Ground on Fifth ‘Improve I-70’ Project

The Missouri Department of Transportation recently hosted a groundbreaking ceremony to kick off construction on the fifth project within the “Improve I-70” program – encompassing a 13-mile stretch of interstate between the town of Boonville and the Rocheport River Bridge.

[Above photo by MoDOT]

MoDOT said the $104 million Improve I-70: Boonville to Rocheport project will add a third lane in each direction to I-70, along with other improvements. This project also includes plans to widen two I-70 bridges – one over the Union Pacific Railroad at mile markers 113 and one just west of the Lance Corporal Leon Deraps I-70 Missouri River Bridge at Rocheport. 

“The Improve I-70: Boonville to Rocheport project is another outstanding example of improvements for Missourians delivered by Missourians,” said Ed Hassinger, MoDOT’s director, in statement.

“To date, every Improve I-70 project has been awarded to Missouri contractors,” he emphasized. “These projects are being built by people who live here, work here, and raise their families here. They know firsthand the importance of this corridor and understand the difference these improvements will make for daily life and commerce.”

He added that the Improve I-70: Boonville to Rocheport project is the first within the overall Improve I-70 program to be delivered through a design-bid-build process, whereby designs are completed before the plans are provided to contractors for bid. The lowest responsive bidder wins the construction contract.

MoDOT noted that, by the summer, three Improve I-70 program projects will be underway in central Missouri between Boonville and Kingdom City.

The agency added that Missouri’s approved fiscal year 2024 budget provides $2.8 billion in General Revenue to build a third lane of I-70 across the state. The program will ultimately plan, design, construct, reconstruct, rehabilitate, and add a third lane in each direction on nearly 200 miles of I-70, from Blue Springs to Wentzville.