Interstate 70

Interstate 70
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Name	Interstate 70
Route	I-70
Length mi	2145.67
Established	1956
Direction a	West
Terminus a	near Cove Fort, Utah
Direction b	East
Terminus b	near Baltimore, Maryland
States	Utah; Colorado; Kansas; Missouri; Illinois; Indiana; Ohio; West Virginia; Pennsylvania; Maryland

Contents

Interstate 70 is a major east–west Interstate connecting the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 era network across the central and eastern United States. It links the high deserts of Utah and the Rocky Mountains of Colorado to the Great Plains of Kansas, the Mississippi River corridor near St. Louis, the industrial Midwest of Ohio and Indiana, and the Appalachian approaches to Baltimore, Maryland. Its corridors serve metropolitan areas such as Las Vegas-area access via connecting routes, Denver, Kansas City, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Columbus, and the Pittsburgh periphery, and intersect numerous national routes and waterways.

Route description

The western terminus lies near Cove Fort, Utah connecting to Interstate 15 and traverses the San Rafael Swell and the Wasatch Plateau before descending toward the Rockies near Green River, Utah and Grand Junction, Colorado. In Colorado, the highway crosses the Gore Range, the Eisenhower Tunnel corridor (paralleling the Rocky Mountains corridor of U.S. Route 6), and serves Denver, intersecting Interstate 25 and shipping links to Union Pacific Railroad. Eastward across Kansas the route parallels and intersects U.S. Route 40 and crosses the Kansas River near Topeka. In Missouri it joins the Interstate 64/U.S. Route 40 corridor into St. Louis, spanning the Mississippi River via the Poplar Street Bridge and passing near St. Louis University and the Gateway Arch. Across Illinois, I-70 crosses agricultural plains toward Indiana, where it bypasses Terre Haute and links to Indianapolis International Airport corridors. In Ohio, the route merges with Interstate 71 and serves Columbus; it continues through Zanesville toward the Pennsylvania Turnpike approaches near Pittsburgh, traversing the Allegheny Plateau and the Appalachian foothills before entering Maryland toward its eastern terminus near Baltimore and connections with Interstate 695.

Planning and construction drew on proposals from the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 and earlier National Interregional Highway Committee studies. Early western segments reused corridors of U.S. Route 40 and U.S. Route 24, while mountain segments required engineering feats similar to the Eisenhower Tunnel and the Glenwood Canyon preservation debates, echoing controversies around Yellowstone National Park access and Civilian Conservation Corps-era road projects. Urban segments in Denver and St. Louis provoked municipal debates like those involving Robert Moses-era projects in New York City and later community opposition seen in freeway revolts across San Francisco and Boston. Construction milestones included the completion of cross-state links across Kansas and the opening of river crossings such as the Poplar Street Bridge replacing older structures like the Eads Bridge and complementing later spans like the New Mississippi River Bridge (Gateway Project). Federal funding during administrations from Dwight D. Eisenhower to modern presidencies shaped priorities, and labor disputes involved unions such as the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America.

Planned improvements involve widening projects and interchange reconstructions influenced by programs such as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and state-level transportation plans from the Colorado Department of Transportation, Kansas Department of Transportation, Missouri Department of Transportation, Indiana Department of Transportation, and the Ohio Department of Transportation. Proposed projects include capacity expansion near Denver Union Station transit interfaces, reconstruction around the St. Louis Lambert International Airport access, and safety upgrades in the Appalachian corridor influenced by studies from the Federal Highway Administration and National Transportation Safety Board. Environmental reviews reference agencies like the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Environmental Protection Agency and consider impacts similar to cases heard before the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. Funding mechanisms include bonding measures approved by legislatures in Colorado General Assembly, Kansas Legislature, and programs receiving federal grants through Department of Transportation competitive awards.

The exit numbering scheme follows mileposts and state practices, with auxiliary sequences in metropolitan areas. Major junctions include termini at Interstate 15 near Cove Fort, interchanges with I-70 Business corridors near Grand Junction, Colorado, the Interstate 25/U.S. Route 36 interchange in Denver, connections to Interstate 435 and Interstate 635 in the Kansas City metropolitan area, the Interstate 55/Interstate 64 complex around St. Louis, crossings of Interstate 57 in Illinois, linkages to Interstate 65 and Interstate 465 around Indianapolis, concurrency with Interstate 71 near Columbus, Ohio, intersections with Interstate 79 and Interstate 376 approaching Pittsburgh, and eastern termini meeting Interstate 95/Interstate 695 near Baltimore.

The corridor includes auxiliary Interstates, U.S. Highways, and state routes: notable auxiliaries include I-170 in St. Louis County, Missouri, I-470 around Topeka and Kansas City beltways, I-270 serving the Montgomery County tech corridor, and I-670 in Columbus. Related U.S. Highways include U.S. Route 40, U.S. Route 24, U.S. Route 54, and U.S. Route 36 which historically paralleled or were supplanted by interim I-70 segments. State routes such as C-470 and Missouri Route 364 function as bypasses, while freight corridors by BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad intersect the highway at major terminals like Denver Union Station and St. Louis Terminal.

The route has experienced notable incidents and patterns studied by agencies like the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board. High-traffic urban segments around Denver, Kansas City, St. Louis, and Columbus report congestion analyses similar to those in studies of Interstate 95 and Interstate 80. Weather-related hazards include mountain winter closures near the Eisenhower Tunnel and flash-flood events in canyons like Glenwood Canyon, prompting coordinated responses from state patrols such as the Colorado State Patrol and Ohio State Highway Patrol. High-profile incidents have involved hazardous-materials spills and multivehicle collisions investigated jointly by Federal Railroad Administration when rail crossings are implicated, and emergency response protocols reference agencies including Federal Emergency Management Agency and state emergency management offices. Safety initiatives have drawn on campaigns from the National Safety Council and engineering countermeasures promoted in American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials guidelines.

Category:Interstate Highways in the United States