REMINDER -Media invited to Groundbreaking Ceremony for Improve I-70 project in Columbia

REMINDER: The media is invited a groundbreaking ceremony celebrating the start of construction for Improve I-70: Rocheport to Columbia. The event will begin at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 7, at the north parking lot of the former Ellis Fischel Cancer Center located at approximately 115 Business Loop West Columbia, MO 65203. Attendees can access the ceremony location by taking Business Loop 70 to Garth Avenue. Follow Garth Avenue north towards I-70. MoDOT staff will be on site to direct attendees and to assist with parking. Media parking is available; please tell the staff on site that you are with the media.

Improve I-70: Rocheport to Columbia is a $441 million Design-Build project that will add a third lane of travel in each direction and make other improvements along 14-miles of I-70 between approximately the Missouri River Bridge at Rocheport and U.S. Route 63 in Columbia. This project was awarded in December 2025 to The ESS Team, led by contractor Emery Sapp & Sons and their designer Parsons. It is the fourth construction project awarded within MoDOT's Statewide Improve I-70 Program. Construction begins in Spring 2026 and is scheduled for completion in late 2029.

Missouri's FY2024 budget, approved through the state legislative process and signed into law by the governor, provides $2.8 billion in General Revenue 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. Total program completion is anticipated by the end of 2030. For more information on the Improve I-70 Program and to sign up for program e-mails, visit http://www.modot.org/improvei70.

WHAT

Groundbreaking ceremony celebrating the beginning of construction for Improve I-70: Rocheport to Columbia.

WHEN AND WHERE

10:30 a.m., Thursday, May 7, 2026

North Parking Lot of former Ellis Fischel Cancer Center
115 Business Loop West Columbia, MO 65203.

Access the ceremony location by taking Business Loop 70 to Garth Avenue. Follow Garth Avenue north towards I-70. MoDOT staff will be on site to direct attendees and to assist with parking. Event is standing room only.

SPEAKERS

Congressman Mark Alford, U.S. Representative, District 4

Governor Mike Kehoe, State of Missouri

W. Dustin Boatwright, Missouri Highways & Transportation Commission Vice Chairman

Kip Kendrick, Boone County Presiding Commissioner

Barbara Buffaloe, Mayor of Columbia

Michael Graves, University of Missouri Associate Vice Chancellor of Campus Facilities

Josh Doerhoff, Emery Sapp & Sons

Spencer Robinson, Improve I-70: Rocheport to Columbia Project Director

For more information on Improve I-70: Rocheport to Columbia, visit the project website at https://www.modot.org/projects/improvei70/rocheportcolumbia.