MoDOT put shovels in the ground on April 3 for the widening that will keep our stretch of I-70 under construction into 2027 — the official start of the project everyone in Rocheport has heard about for a while now. This is the fifth Improve I-70 project statewide and the one that touches us directly: a third lane each direction across the 13 miles from Route 5 in Boonville to our own Missouri River bridge, plus work on two bridges along the way, KOMU reported.
State Rep. Tim Taylor, whose district covers this stretch, framed it as a safety fix as much as a capacity one — with crashes and near-misses piling up on the current two-lane corridor, he called the case for widening “an easy sell.” MoDOT Director Ed Hassinger pitched it as a homegrown build: Missouri-funded, and going to Capital Paving and Construction, a Jefferson City contractor, on a $104 million contract awarded in February.
Why it matters here: this is the ceremony behind the cones you’ve already been seeing near the bridge. MoDOT’s own project page puts the finish at late 2027; KOMU’s coverage of the ceremony had organizers describing the work running into 2028, so treat any exact end date as soft until MoDOT’s page updates. Either way, plan on a rough couple of years crossing that bridge. The Improve I-70: Boonville to Rocheport project page is the place to check before a long drive.