Beautification efforts at Columbia’s I-70 and Highway 63 interchange to be unveiled today

You have an opportunity today to see proposed plans to beautify the area around Columbia’s sprawling I-70 and Highway 63 interchange, which is scheduled to be improved in the next few years.

An interested parties meeting will take place from 5:30 to 7 this evening at the Walton building on South Providence.

The Columbia Chamber of Commerce has made the beautification of Columbia’s largest interchange a top priority. The state Department of Transportation (MoDOT) says about 160,000 vehicles go through the I-70 and 63 interchange daily, making it mid-Missouri’s busiest interchange.

Residents and motorists have complained for years about trash and litter near the interchange.

MoDOT has unveiled a $140-million preferred alternative for I-70 and Highway 63, and that proposed plan is a single point urban interchange (SPUI). The plan would include two key flyovers. You’ll be able to review and comment on proposed beautification efforts during today’s meeting, which will be open-house style.