Interstate 170

Interstate 170 (I-170), also known as the Inner Belt Expressway, is an 11.17-mile (17.98 km) north-south Interstate Highway in the St. Louis, Missouri metropolitan area. I-170 connects to I-270 at its northern terminus and I-64 at its southern terminus. I-170 crosses its parent, I-70, near St. Louis Lambert International Airport.

Interstate 170
Inner Belt Expressway
I-170 highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route of I-70
Maintained by MoDOT
Length	11.17 mi[1] (17.98 km)
Existed	1956–present
Major junctions
South end	I-64 / US 40 in Richmond Heights
	I-70 in Berkeley
North end	I-270 in Hazelwood
Location
Counties	St. Louis
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Future Missouri State Highway System Interstate U.S. State Supplemental ← US 169 → Route 171

History

I-170 was originally intended to provide an inner beltway within I-270 through St. Louis County extending to I-55 in the South County area;[2] however, the portion of the route south of I-64/US 40 was canceled due to local opposition. The portion of MetroLink's Cross County Extension south of I-64 runs roughly along the proposed alignment.[3]

The southern portion of I-170 was built using St. Louis County funds in the 1960s through a shallow valley. It was signed as Route 725.

Recent construction

The southern two interchanges on I-170 (at I-64/US 40 and Galleria Parkway) were reconstructed as part of the first phase of the New I-64 project. Most notably, the new interchange includes direct access to I-170 from eastbound I-64; however, access to Galleria Parkway from northbound I-170 was eliminated. Eager Road access to and from I-170 was also revised in the New I-64 project.[4]

Southern Extension

Because Interstate 170 terminates at I-64/US-40, a direct access from Interstate 170 and Interstate 64 (Highway 40) to Interstate 55, Interstate 270, and Interstate 44 are lacked. Also, towns such as Richmond Heights, Brentwood, Maplewood, and Marlbourough lack access to the Interstates, the St. Louis Lambert International Airport, South County, and to each other. Because of this, commuters either have to take indirect surface streets as bypasses such as Hanley Road or River Des Peres Boulevard which would result in a much higher mileage and time due to traffic signals and a longer route. For example, if one is in Richmond Heights and wants to get to South County, they have to take Brentwood Blvd to Eager Road to Hanley Road to Murdoch Ave to I-44 and then to I-270 towards South County. This also results in higher traffic in residential streets and towns such as Shrewsbury.[5] Proposals had been made to solve this problem such as a new freeway for faster commute or “South County Connector” to connect Richmond Heights to South County but these proposals had been postponed due to lack of funding.[6]

Exit list

The entire route is in St. Louis County.

Location	mi[7]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Richmond Heights	0.00	0.00	1	I-64 / US 40 / Lewis and Clark Trail – Wentzville, St. Louis	Signed as exits 1A (east) and 1B (west)
	0.438	0.705	1C	Brentwood Boulevard north / Eager Road	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
Clayton	0.809	1.302	1D	Brentwood Boulevard south	Southbound exit and northbound entrance (via Galleria Parkway)
	1.170	1.883	1E	Forest Park Parkway east	Western terminus of the Forest Park Parkway
Ladue	1.611	2.593	1F	Ladue Road
University City	2.374	3.821	2	Delmar Boulevard
Olivette	3.336	5.369	3	Route 340 (Olive Boulevard)
Overland	4.325	6.960	4	Route D (Page Avenue)
St. John	5.865	9.439	5	Route 180 (St. Charles Rock Road)
Bel-Ridge	7.027	11.309	6	Route 115 (Natural Bridge Road) – Cargo City
Berkeley	7.654	12.318	7	I-70 – St. Louis, Kansas City	Signed as exit 7A (east) and 7B (west); exit 235
	7.771	12.506	7C	Lambert–St. Louis International Airport	Southbound exit is via exit 7B
	8.577	13.803	8	Scudder Road / North Hanley Road	No northbound entrance
	9.167	14.753	9A	Airport Road – Cargo City
	9.236	14.864	9B	Boeing	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
	9.780	15.739	9C	North Hanley Road	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
Hazelwood	10.894– 11.255	17.532– 18.113	10	I-270 – Kansas City, Chicago	Signed as exits 10A (west) and 10B (east)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Incomplete access

References

1. "Route Log and Finder List - Interstate System - table 2". Federal Highway Administration. October 31, 2002. Retrieved July 8, 2007.
2. Sutin, Phil; Hopgood, Mei-Ling (January 9, 1997). "Hundreds of Homes Face Razing for New Highway". St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
3. Sutin, Phil (March 14, 1997). "Westfall Sours On Extension of Interstate 170". St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
4. "Project Overview". The New I-64. Missouri Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on May 4, 2007. Retrieved May 28, 2007.
5. 314-340-8215, KEN LEISER | [email protected] >. "Linking South County, Clayton studied". stltoday.com. Retrieved January 19, 2018.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
6. "South County Connector: 1st Phase of 170 South Extension?". FOX2now.com. May 14, 2013. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
7. Missouri Department of Transportation (March 18, 2015). MoDOT HPMAPS (Map). Missouri Department of Transportation. Retrieved March 18, 2015.

External links

• Kurumi.com: Interstate 170