Projects to reconstruct two Route 71 interchanges in north Cass County and south Jackson County and a new interchange two miles south of Route 58 in Cass County will slow traffic over the next two years. When construction concludes by late 2010, traffic will flow smoothly along this major south Kansas City area corridor.

Reconstruction of the Route 150 interchange at Route 71 includes removal and replacement of the Route 71 bridges over Route 150.

Both the north and southbound lanes on Route 71 between just south of 140th Street and just north of 155th Street will continue as two lanes in each direction. Route 71 will be open to three lanes in each direction by summer 2010.

The 163rd Street interchange, which serves traffic coming from Route Y in Cass County, will be reconstructed in the next two years by adding wider ramps and bridges. MoDOT has taken steps to ease traffic backups by adding temporary signals at 155th Street, speeding up construction at 163rd Street and reconstructing an alternative north-south highway (Route D) prior to construction along the Route 71 corridor.

Update: The ramp from 163rd Street to northbound Route 71 re-opened mid-afternoon Wednesday, Oct. 28.

Construction crews are turning their attention to the northbound ramp from 163rd to Route 71, which will be the next element to be completed in the next few weeks. The interchange is expected to be fully functioning by late this year.

The widening of Route 150 from just east of Route 71 in Grandview to just west of Route 291 in Lee’s Summit also has begun. The eight-mile-long project will lower hills, fill valleys and provide two 11-foot-wide lanes in each direction. The first phase of construction, from near Route 71 east to approximately Lumpkins Fork Creek, will continue in 2009.