Missouri officials recently selected a design and construction team from Millstone Weber and Jacobs for the first $405 million project planned as part of a program to widen and improve Interstate 70 across the state. Lawmakers budgeted $2.8 billion for six projects covering nearly 200 miles of the highway between the Kansas City and St. Louis metro areas. Louis.
The scope of this first project includes adding a third lane in both directions and concrete paving all lanes along a 20-mile stretch of I-70 between Columbia and Kingdom City, Missouri . The project also includes reworking the US 63 interchange with two new ramps and four roundabouts, in addition to rebuilding the US 54 interchange with two new bridges. The inner and outer shoulders would also widen.
The Millstone Weber-Jacobs team competed against another team for the job, according to the Missouri Department of Transportation. Officials said last October that the other prequalified team invited to submit a proposal was I-70 Constructors, a joint venture of Emery Sapp & Sons and Capital Paving and Construction. In a statement, MoDOT officials said the “winning proposal not only demonstrated an understanding of the engineering and design efforts presented to the teams, but also highlighted an understanding of the local, state and national importance of an improved I-70.”
Bob Leingang, vice president and chief engineer of Millstone Weber, based in St. Charles, Mo., said in a statement that the project “is a great deal for everyone who drives this stretch of the interstate and uses these interchanges.”
Construction is scheduled to begin this summer and is expected to be completed by the end of 2027, according to MoDOT.
Officials plan to begin contracting on the second project covering the east end of Warrenton in Wentzville, which is estimated to cost $400 million to $500 million by the summer. Procurement of the third project, expected to cost $200 million to $300 million for the west end of Blue Springs in Odessa, will follow in the fall. MoDOT officials aim to have both contracts awarded next spring.
Contracts for the rest of the projects are expected to be awarded until 2027 for the completion of the entire program in 2030.
Missouri is funding most of the estimated cost of the projects themselves. The U.S. Department of Transportation recently awarded a $92.8 million grant to the state for improvements to I-70. According to Gov. Mike Parson, it’s the largest transportation grant Missouri has ever received.
