UPDATE: MoDOT to begin changes Friday night on eastbound I-70 in Callaway County

By Brian Hauswirth
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You’ll start seeing changes Friday night and overnight on eastbound I-70 in the busy work zone between Columbia and Kingdom City.

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The Missouri State Highway Patrol continues to urge motorists to slow down in the 20-mile work zone stretch of I-70 between Columbia and Kingdom City. MoDOT crews are involved in a $405-million project to rebuild and expand I-70 between the two cities (2025 file photo courtesy of MoDOT’s Flickr page)

Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) officials briefed reporters Thursday near the interstate. They plan to begin shifting eastbound I-70 traffic between Routes J and M back onto the newly-paved eastbound lanes this evening. MoDOT also says eastbound access to and from exit 137 will reopen this weekend.

Our news partner ABC-17 reports MoDOT crews will work overnight tonight and that the eastbound interstate is expectedly to be fully clear by Saturday.

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Crews from the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) and contractors work on the I-70 rebuilding and expansion project between Columbia and Kingdom City (2025 file photo courtesy of MoDOT’s Flickr page)

This work is all part of the $405-million project approved by Missouri lawmakers in both parties to rebuild and expand I-70 between Columbia and Kingdom City. State Rep. Jim Schulte (R-New Bloomfield), who represents Callaway County, has urged you to be patient as the I-70 construction happens. Representative Schulte predicts this will be a game-changer for mid-Missouri. He’s also excited that the busy I-70 and Highway 54 interchange in Kingdom City will receive two new bridges and a roundabout interchange.