Contractor Selected For First Phase Of I-70 Enhancement Project
The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission selected Millstone Weber as the Design-Build contractor for the first project of the Missouri Department of Transportation’s Improve I-70 Program.
The project would build a third lane in each direction and improve the 20-mile stretch of Interstate 70 between U.S. 63 Highway in Columbia and U.S. 54 in Kingdom City. The project would begin this summer. The $405 million project is the first of several projects which will widen and improve the I-70 corridor.
Missouri’s Fiscal Year 2024 budget from the General Assembly signed into law by Governor Parson provides $2.8 billion in General Revenue for the costs to build a third lane of I-70 across the state. The program will 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.
A Design-Build project plan combines both the design and construction phases into one contract. The selected contract team completes the design and construction in parallel instead of in succession. That process is intended to save time and resources. The goals for the Columbia to Kingdom City project includes a completion by December 31st of 2027 within a budget of $405 million, the construction of a third lane of travel, improving the I-70 interchanges with U.S. 63 and U.S. 54, improving existing pavement and bridges, and minimize construction impacts.
