Downtown Loop (Kansas City)
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Downtown Loop | |
---|---|
The southern portion of the loop (Interstate 670) at night | |
Location | |
Kansas City, Missouri | |
Coordinates | 39°06′06″N 94°34′57″W / 39.1017°N 94.5825°W |
Roads at junction | |
Construction | |
Type | Loop around downtown |
Maintained by | MoDOT |
The Downtown Loop (nicknamed the Alphabet Loop) is a complex layout of highways in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri involving 24 exits, four Interstate Highways, four U.S. Highways, and numerous city streets. Each exit is numbered 2 and suffixed with every letter of the alphabet except I and O (to avoid confusion with the numbers 1 and 0). The entire circumference of the loop is just over 4 miles (6.4 km).
Overview
[edit]The system is nicknamed the Alphabet Loop due to all exits having letter suffixes.[1][2][3] Alphabetically, the letter suffixes begin with A in the northwest corner of the loop and proceed forward in a clockwise direction around the loop. Eastbound on the north side of the loop (EB I-70/NB I-35) are A through G; then H through M southbound on the east side (EB I-70/SB US 71); then N through U westbound on the south side (WB I-670); and finally V through Z northbound on the west side (NB I-35 alone).
Interstate 70 enters the southeast corner of the loop and moves north forming the east and north sides of the loop and exiting in the northwest corner. Exits on I-70 range from 2A to 2M.
Interstate 35 enters the loop at its northeast corner, joining I-70 on the north side and forming the west side of the loop before exiting in the southwest corner. Exits on I-35 range from 2F to 2A while it overlaps I-70, and 2Y to 2U after I-70 exits the loop.
Interstate 29 does not enter the loop. It begins at the northeast corner and continues north, concurrent with I-35. These two leave the loop via the Christopher S. Bond Bridge and split several miles north.
Interstate 670 forms the south side of the loop. I-670 splits from I-70 in Kansas City, Kansas, crosses over I-70 and enters the loop in the southwest corner, rejoining I-70 and ending in Kansas City, Missouri in the southeast corner of the loop. I-670 is also signed as Alternate I-70.
U.S. Route 71 is a highway that enters the loop in the southeast corner and leaves the loop with I-29 and I-35 in the northeast corner.
U.S. Route 24 is a major city street which enters the loop in the northeast corner and follows I-35 and I-70 along the north side of the loop. Former US 24 now US-Bus 24 is also known as Independence Ave/Blvd and provides a street-level connection to Independence, Missouri.
U.S. Route 40 overlaps I-70 throughout the northern and eastern sections of the loop.
U.S. Route 169 enters the loop in the northwest corner from the Buck O'Neil Bridge, and joins I-70, continuing westward.
Route 9 also provides access to the loop, ending at I-70 after crossing the Heart of America Bridge from North Kansas City.
History
[edit]The west side of the loop was built over a scenic road called Kersey Coates Drive. It had many affluent homes, and stairs lead down from Case Park immediately to the east. When the loop was completed, the multi-lane Interstate cut further into the bluff and these homes were razed.[4] The stairway from Case Park was cut off halfway and remains between exits 2W and 2X.
A March 2010 preliminary study[5] of the Kansas City I-70 corridor made several innovative suggestions to relieve congestion in the downtown area. One proposal was to make the loop unidirectional, where the loop would essentially become a large roundabout. In 2022, plans were approved to construct a $160 million cap over a stretch of I-670, on the loop's southern half. The cap is planned to be topped with a public park called South Loop Link.[6]
Exit list
[edit]The following is the list of exits inside the loop in order as encountered if entering the loop from eastbound I-70.
Clockwise exits
[edit]The entire route is in Kansas City, Jackson County.
mi | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2D | Main Street | ||||
2E | |||||
2G | Left exit | ||||
2H | Left exit | ||||
2J | 11th Street | ||||
Left exit | |||||
2M | Left exit | ||||
2L | Continuation of Loop | ||||
2S | Broadway | ||||
Left exit | |||||
2T | Continuation of Loop | ||||
Left exit | |||||
Continuation of Loop | |||||
2W | 12th Street | ||||
2X | |||||
2Y | |||||
2Z | Broadway | ||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi |
Counterclockwise exits
[edit]The entire route is in Kansas City, Jackson County.
mi | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2W | 12th Street | ||||
2U | Continuation of Loop; left exit | ||||
2M | |||||
2N | Continuation of Loop; left exit | ||||
2H | |||||
2G | |||||
2F | Oak Street, Grand Avenue, Walnut Street | ||||
2D | Main-Delaware, Wyandotte Street | ||||
2C | |||||
2A | Continuation of Loop | ||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi |
Entrances
[edit]The entire route is in Kansas City, Jackson County.
mi | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2B | Beardsley | Beardsley Road southbound; only accessible from I-70 east entrance | |||
2K | Harrison Street, Troost Avenue | only accessible from I-70 west entrance | |||
2P | 13th Street – Downtown | only accessible from I-670 west entrance | |||
2Q | Locust Street, Truman Road | only accessible from I-670 west entrance | |||
2R | Central Street – Downtown | left exit; only accessible from I-670 east entrance | |||
2V | 14th Street – Downtown | only accessible from I-35 north entrance | |||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Interstate 670 Kansas / Missouri - Interstate-Guide.com". Interstate-Guide. January 22, 2019.
- ^ "Interstate 70 East - Kansas City - AARoads - Missouri". AARoads.
- ^ "SATELLITE PHOTOS: The Craziest Intersections In The World". Business Insider.
- ^ "The Line Creek Loudmouth: KC Freeway History".
- ^ "Draft I-70 First Tier Environmental Impact Statement (FTEIS)" (PDF). Missouri Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 27, 2011. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
- ^ Castro, Monica (April 22, 2022). "Kansas City Unveils Plans for $160M 'South Loop Link' Park over I-670". FOX 4 Kansas City. Kansas City, Missouri: WDAF-TV. Retrieved March 15, 2023.