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

MoDOT’s preferred alternative for Columbia’s I-70 and Highway 63 interchange contains two flyovers (November 2, 2022 file photo from 939 the Eagle’s Brian Hauswirth)

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.