Groundbreaking ceremony marks start of Rocheport to Columbia I-70 construction

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri Department of Transportation is holding a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday to celebrate the start of construction from Rocheport to Columbia for the next phase of the Improve I-70 Project.

The groundbreaking will begin at 10:30 a.m. Thursday in the north parking lot of the former Ellis Fishel Cancer Center, located on the Business Loop in Columbia. Governor Mike Kehoe, Congressman Mark Alford and Mayor Barbara Buffaloe, among several others, are set to speak at the event.

The Rocheport to Columbia project is the fourth major construction segment in the agency’s statewide expansion program. The project includes adding a third lane in each direction on Interstate 70 from the Missouri River Bridge at Rocheport to near Highway 63 in Columbia, using new 11-inch full-depth concrete pavement.

This portion of the Improve I-70 Project will stretch nearly 14 miles and will be approximately $441 million, according to MoDoT.

MODOT’s team’s plan includes improvements to interchanges at Route J/O, Midway (Highway 40), Stadium Blvd., Business Loop 70, Providence Road, Range Line St. and Highway 63. 

The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission awarded Emery Sapp and Sons and Parsons Transportation Group as contractors for the project in December.