The left exit ramp from westbound Interstate 70 onto Business Loop 70 in Columbia will close permanently on Nov. 12, according to the Missouri Department of Transportation.
Exit 128 is expected to be removed in 2025 as part of MoDOT’s project to create a new interchange between I-70 and U.S. 63.
Drivers can use Exit 127 onto Range Line Street (Missouri 763) and travel south to Business Loop 70.
MoDOT first considered removing the ramp in 2021, saying that the exit ramp’s bridge was nearing the end of its service life.
MoDOT also said it believes removing the left-side ramp will help with safety along I-70.
Lee’s Tire Company, located near the exit, launched a petition in 2021 opposing its removal, claiming that removing the ramp would “cripple” local businesses near the ramp.
Jeffrey Spencer, who owns Just Jeff’s hamburger restaurant on Business Loop, says maximizing access points to local businesses on Business Loop is important.
“Every access point we can have for local small businesses is important,” Spencer said. “That’s a great access point going westbound that they need to maintain.”
Spencer, whose business is a little over a mile west of the exit ramp, says only time will tell how one fewer access point will affect his business.
“Any time you lose an access point to your business, it’s detrimental,” Spencer said. “I hope to not see any real effects.”
Spencer said he previously served on the board for The Loop Community Improvement District, an organization dedicated to enhancing the area.
A grant awarded to the city of Columbia from the US Department of Transportation is helping to fund a study to improve infrastructure in the area. Spencer said it doesn’t make sense to permanently remove access points to something that government funds are supposed to help improve.
“Restricting that access to what government funds are going to do for us already, I really think that’s a questionable move,” Spencer said.
Despite the removal, MoDOT said its overall redesign of the I-70 and U.S. 63 interchange will help to improve congestion and traffic flow in the area.
Construction crews will use the ramp for excavation and to move material until it is removed, MoDOT said.
The new interchange between I-70 and U.S. 63 is part of the first project between Columbia and Kingdom City in MoDOT’s Improve I-70 Program.
Exit 128 (Business Loop 70) from westbound I-70 will close permanently on the night of Nov. 12. Motorists should use Exit 127 (Route 763/Range Line Street) south to Business Loop 70. Learn more: https://t.co/pRhMrLYBYk pic.twitter.com/7FJzDsUeBE
— MoDOT Central District (@MoDOT_Central) November 4, 2024
