The Missouri Department of Transportation was out with excavators and bulldozers as they brought down the bridge over U.S. Route 50 on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. Replacing the bridge and improving the surrounding interchange is estimated to cost $25 million, with funding from a statewide cost-sharing program and Tax Increment Financing (TIF) from the city of Lee’s Summit, Missouri. When it’s all said and done, the new bridge is designed to improve traffic flow at the Route 291 North Junction. Crews are also relocating the north outer road of Blue Parkway and improving 7th Terrace, along with portions of U.S. Route 50.
Brook Rohlfing, communications manager for MoDOT Kansas City, said the hope is for work to be done before the year is over.
“Construction is anticipated or estimated to be completed by the end of 2026,” Rohlfing said. “We always like to say ‘anticipate’, or ‘estimate’ (because of) any changes due to weather that we have.”
Route 291 averages around 23,000 drivers daily, Rohlfing said, and double that for Route 50. He said the roadwork means drivers will likely experience changes to their daily commute.
“Folks that drive through the area will notice a new traffic configuration,” he said. “You're able to go up and over the ramps in the area as demolition is completed.”
The changes, Rohlfing said, will mitigate problems from congested traffic that causes delays and safety hazards.
Among other projects that could be interrupting the flow of traffic include safety and operational improvements along Route 24, east of Wilson Avenue and west of Sterling Avenue.
MoDOT said the department decided on the improvements after reviewing crash locations within the corridor. To address safety concerns, officials decided to expand the roadway to a five-lane section with two left-turn lanes. In addition, they are replacing the traffic lights aimed at protecting the safety of cyclists and pedestrians. The work closed lanes on Route 24 and side streets, disrupting foot traffic to some of the businesses in the area. This project was jointly funded by MoDOT and the City of Independence. It is expected to wrap up in December 2026.
U.S. Route 71 at Bannister Road is also under construction with a bridge replacement, including the addition of a new lane that ends south of the Hickman Mills Drive interchange. This project is anticipated to be completed later this fall.
One of the largest, costliest ongoing highway projects is MoDOT’s Improve I-70, which is designed to expand capacity and renovate the historic highway that straddles the state. In 2024, Missouri allocated $2.8 billion to "plan, design, construct, reconstruct, rehabilitate and repair" three lanes in each direction on nearly 200 miles of Interstate 70, from Blue Springs to Wentzville, Missouri. The massive undertaking is occurring in stages through eight different projects. The Blue Springs portion of the project began in September 2025 and improves the interstate along the 19-mile route to Odessa, Missouri. This section is scheduled to be finished in late 2028. Full completion of the I-70 corridor renovation is slated for late 2030.
