highways

Orange cones and jack hammers have slowed drivers on U.S. Highway 69 for years. Officials announced Tuesday that express toll lanes running north and south will be open on Feb. 21. The new lanes are designed to reduce traffic and accidents.

In 1912, Kansas City, Missouri, became the first city in the U.S. to arrest people for jaywalking. Fueled by auto industry propaganda, this decision set off a nationwide trend to redesign our roads for the car — at the expense of everyone else.

Missouri residents today have even less say in their transportation needs. Last year, Gov. Mike Kehoe slashed the state’s Transit Operating Investment nearly in half, reducing funding to local public transit agencies.

Construction on Interstate 70 began in 2024, with the first section covering the stretch of highway between Columbia and Kingdom City.

Kansas City is using a $5 million grant to study how to reconnect communities torn apart by Highway 71. Commuters, residents, and urban planners continue to debate between multiple possibilities that could transform nearby neighborhoods and traffic in the area.

Highway construction tore through the historically Latino neighborhood in the latter half of the 20th century. Now, Kansas City is reconsidering the roadways with an eye toward addressing some of the harms they have caused.

Kansas City is considering changes to Highway 71 as part of its project to reconnect the neighborhoods torn apart decades ago by its construction. But some residents who live near the highway wonder if officials have their best interests in mind.

The Missouri Department of Transportation said Wednesday there have been nearly 750 highway fatalities so far this year.

The STORM team will focus on roadways with high crash rates, dangerous driving behaviors and criminal activity. Its first large-scale operation was in Jackson County.

The $500,000 grant will help Overland Park make its streets safer. But several community members raised concerns that the Trump administration's terms require cooperation with immigration enforcement and compliance with executive orders banning diversity.

As part of Kansas City's efforts to explore how to reconnect the predominantly Black neighborhoods that were split by the construction of Highway 71, local artists are using their talents to visualize people's ideas.

The once dominant road-trip stop now has about 60 franchise stores left, including one in rural Missouri that offers a vey different menu to the one Stuckey's is traditionally known for.