The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT), alongside team members from Capital Paving & Construction, and Burns & McDonnell, hosted a groundbreaking ceremony on Friday, April 3. Joined by federal, state, and local elected officials and leaders, the ceremony kicked off construction of MoDOT’s fifth Improve I-70 project, Boonville to Rocheport. 

It is a $104 million design-bid-build project that will add a third lane to I-70 in each direction for the 13-mile section between Missouri Route 5 in Boonville and the Lance Corporal Leon Deraps I-70 Missouri River (Rocheport) Bridge. This project also includes plans to widen two I-70 bridges, one over the Union Pacific Railroad at mile markers 113, and one just west of the Lance Corporal Leon Deraps I-70 Missouri River Bridge at Rocheport.  

By summer 2026, three Improve I-70 Program projects will be underway in central Missouri, between Boonville and Kingdom City. While two lanes of travel will be open along I-70 during peak travel times, motorists can anticipate reduced speed limits and narrowed lanes across the state. Motorists are urged to drive the posted speed limit, eliminate distractions, and allow for extra time.