Overview
The system is nicknamed the Alphabet Loop because its exits have letter suffixes that are nearly all the letters of the English alphabet. [1] [2] [3] Alphabetically, the letter suffixes begin with A in the northwest corner of the loop and proceed forward in a clockwise direction around the loop. Eastbound on the north side of the loop (EB I-70/NB I-35) are A through G; then H through M southbound on the east side (EB I-70/SB US 71); then N through U westbound on the south side (WB I-670); and finally V through Z northbound on the west side (NB I-35 alone).
Interstate 70 enters the southeast corner of the loop and moves north forming the east and north sides of the loop and exiting in the northwest corner. Exits on I-70 range from 2A to 2M.
Interstate 35 enters the loop at its northeast corner, joining I-70 on the north side and forming the west side of the loop before exiting in the southwest corner. Exits on I-35 range from 2F to 2A while it overlaps I-70, and 2Y to 2U after I-70 exits the loop.
Interstate 29 does not enter the loop. It begins at the northeast corner and continues north, concurrent with I-35. These two leave the loop via the Christopher S. Bond Bridge and split several miles north.
Interstate 670 forms the south side of the loop. I-670 splits from I-70 in Kansas City, Kansas, crosses over I-70 and enters the loop in the southwest corner, rejoining I-70 and ending in Kansas City, Missouri in the southeast corner of the loop. I-670 is also signed as Alternate I-70.
U.S. Route 71 is a highway that enters the loop in the southeast corner and leaves the loop with I-29 and I-35 in the northeast corner.
U.S. Route 24 is a major city street which enters the loop in the northeast corner and follows I-35 and I-70 along the north side of the loop. Former US 24 now US-Bus 24 is also known as Independence Ave/Blvd and provides a street-level connection to Independence, Missouri.
U.S. Route 40 overlaps I-70 throughout the northern and eastern sections of the loop.
U.S. Route 169 enters the loop in the northwest corner from the Buck O'Neil Bridge, and joins I-70, continuing westward.
Route 9 also provides access to the loop, ending at I-70 after crossing the Heart of America Bridge from North Kansas City.
History
The west side of the loop was built over a scenic road called Kersey Coates Drive. It had many affluent homes, and stairs lead down from Case Park immediately to the east. When the loop was completed, the multi-lane Interstate cut further into the bluff and these homes were razed. [4] The stairway from Case Park was cut off halfway and remains between exits 2W and 2X.
A March 2010 preliminary study [5] of the Kansas City I-70 corridor made several innovative suggestions to relieve congestion in the downtown area. One proposal was to make the loop unidirectional, where the loop would essentially become a large roundabout. In 2022, plans were approved to construct a $160 million cap over a stretch of I-670, on the loop's southern half. The cap is planned to be topped with a public park called South Loop Link. [6]
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