The Downtown Loop, also called the Alphabet Loop, is a complex layout of highways in

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Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

involving 23 exits, four

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s, four U.S. Highways and numerous city streets. Each exit in the highway loop is numbered 2 and suffixed with every letter of the alphabet except I, O, and Z (I and O look similar to 1 and 0 on the exit tabs; Z is not needed). The entire circumference of the loop is just over .

Description

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), one encounters 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 Y 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

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, crosses over I-70 and enters the loop in the southwest corner, rejoining I-70 and ending in

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.

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overlaps I-70 throughout the northern and eastern sections of the loop.

U.S. Route 169 U.S. Route 169 (US 169) is a north-south U.S highway that currently runs for 966 miles (1,555 km) from the city of Virginia, Minnesota to Tulsa, Oklahoma at Memorial Drive. Route description Oklahoma US 169 is a major north–south ...

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

Before the west side of the loop was built, there was a scenic road called Kersey Coates Drive in that place. There were many affluent homes that were built along the road, and stairs that led 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. The stairs leading down from Case Park were cut off halfway and still remain today, between exits 2W and 2X. A March 2010 preliminary study 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 A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford En ...

Exit list

The following is the list of exits inside the loop in order as encountered if entering the loop from eastbound I-70.maps.google.com August 24, 2017

Clockwise exits

Counterclockwise exits

References