KSHB 41 reporter Claire Bradshaw covers eastern Jackson County, including Blue Springs and Grain Valley. Share your story idea with Claire.
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The Missouri Department of Transportation is cutting the ribbon on the newly reconstructed Lefholz Road bridge over Interstate 70 Monday morning, marking the first completed bridge in the Improve I-70 project stretching from Blue Springs to Odessa.
The bridge is one of 14 set for replacement in the project. Grain Valley's city administrator said the bridge was already at the end of its life, so the city was not surprised by its replacement.
Lefholz Bridge is the only connector over I-70 between Grain Valley and Oak Grove, outside of the interchanges in each city. Grain Valley worked with MoDOT and Oak Grove to ensure the new bridge could be converted into an interchange in the future, due to growth in the area.
The new bridge is wider, features an extra lane and includes pedestrian access.
Grain Valley City Administrator Ken Murphy said the bridge's role as a connector makes it critical infrastructure for the area.
"Buckner Tarsney is our only way to get across, full way to get across I-70, and then we have Lefholz, but it's just an overpass. The other thing that we have with Buckner Tarsney is, we also have train tracks that go through there, so if that's blocked, we really don't have anything then. So, Lefholz is the only, only option that we have going forward," Murphy said.
The ribbon cutting ceremony is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Monday on the newly completed bridge near mile marker 26. Access to the event is restricted to the southern end of the bridge.
Speakers at the ceremony include Karlee Covington, Improve I-70: Blue Springs to Odessa Project Director; Warren Erdman, Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission Chairman; Phil LeVota, Jackson County Executive; Robert Headley, Grain Valley Mayor; and Andrew Nelson, Radmacher Bros. Excavating Vice President of Operations.
The Improve I-70: Blue Springs to Odessa project is a $350 million Design-Build project awarded in spring 2025 to the Radmacher-Ideker Joint Venture team. Construction began in September 2025 and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2028. The project will add a third lane in each direction on I-70 from just west of MO Route 7 in Blue Springs to approximately MO Route H, and includes interchange improvements at Route D in Bates City and at MO Route 131 in Odessa.
It is the third project in MoDOT's statewide Improve I-70 Program, which will add a third lane in each direction on nearly 200 miles of I-70 from Blue Springs to Wentzville. Missouri's FY2024 budget provides $2.8 billion in general revenue to fund the statewide program, with total completion anticipated by the end of 2030.
According to MoDOT's schedule, the Blue Springs segment should be completed this November. Segment two, running through Oak Grove to Bates City, and Segment four in Odessa are both set to begin later this summer.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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