One lane of eastbound I-70 to close over the weekend in Columbia
Jazsmin Halliburton
Starting at 7 p.m. Friday, Interstate 70 between Range Line St. and the U.S. 63 Connector in Columbia will be down to one lane heading east until 6 a.m. Monday. All exit and on ramps will remain open during the lane closure.
According to the Missouri Department of Transportation, this closure will allow crews to safely build the new eastbound lanes near the Paris Road Bridge.
Improve I-70 Statewide Director Eric Kopinski told ABC 17 News that MoDoT had this work scheduled and has been trying to find a perfect time to do this project in the area.
“There never is a good time to close a lane on I-70, especially during the day,” said Kopinski. He said that MoDoT wanted to avoid doing this project on weekends when there’s a Mizzou football game and this was the best time due to the team having a bye week.
“We know there’s still going to be a lot of traffic going eastbound I-70. This was the best weekend that would least impact as many as possible,” said Kopinski.
Kopinski asks drivers to slow down, as speeding is their biggest challenge. He says that speeding occurs either when entering or exiting the work zone throughout the state.
“There isn’t one location that we’re seeing the most speeding occur, but we are having some really severe crashes that are taking place, and again, that’s statewide,” said Kopinski
This lane closure is part of the Improve I-70 project to make the interstate three lanes in each direction from Kansas City to St. Louis.
Drivers are asked to be patient with the work being done across the state. “Our message is keep trying to hang in there with us,” Kopinski said. “When this is all said and done, it’s going to be a game changer for Mid-Missouri, for the entire state. So we’re asking everyone to hang in there with us.”
MoDoT says drivers should expect delays and find an alternate route throughout the weekend.