Interstate 435 (I-435) is an

Interstate Highway The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Hi ...

beltway A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist in reducin ...

that encircles much of the

Kansas City metropolitan area The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

within the states of

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

and

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

in the United States.

Route description

I-435, a loop route of

I-35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexico–Uni ...

, is long and intersects with nearly every other Interstate Highway in the Kansas City area (except for I-635 and I-670). An additional near

Kansas City International Airport Kansas City International Airport (originally Mid-Continent International Airport) is a public airport in Kansas City, Missouri, located northwest of Downtown Kansas City in Platte County, Missouri., effective May 15, 2025. The airport was ...

is signed along with I-29 and U.S. Route 71 (US 71), making I-435 the second-longest complete beltway numbered as a single Interstate Highway in the US and seventh longest in the world after I-275 in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, at ;

Beltway 8 Beltway 8 (BW8), the Sam Houston Parkway, along with the Sam Houston Tollway, is an beltway around the city of Houston, Texas, United States, lying entirely within Harris County, Texas, Harris County. Beltway 8, a state highway mai ...

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, at ;

Bundesautobahn 10 is an ring road, orbital motorway around the German capital city of Berlin. Colloquially called ''Berliner Ring (Berlin Beltway)'', it is predominantly located in the state of Brandenburg, with a short stretch of in Berlin itself. It should ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

at ; and

M25 motorway The M25 or London Orbital Motorway is a major ring road encircling most of Greater London. The motorway is one of the most important roads in the UK and one of the busiest. Margaret Thatcher opened the final section in 1986, making the M25 th ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

at ; as well as 7th and 8th ring roads in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. The majority——of I-435 is within the state of Missouri, and most of that roadway lies within the city limits of Kansas City. The first/last exit is at I-435's parent route, I-35, in

Lenexa, Kansas Lenexa is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 57,434. making it the ninth-most populated city in Kansas. It is bordered by the ...

. Going clockwise around Kansas City, the next interchange is exit 1A for Lackman Road. The milepost numbers do not start over when I-435 crosses the state line, but where it shares the same roadway as I-29, the latter's milepost (and therefore exit) numbering takes precedence. The section of I-435 from mile marker 63.4 to mile marker 54.2 is designated as the Lamar Hunt Memorial Highway in honor of

Lamar Hunt Lamar Hunt Sr. (August 2, 1932 – December 13, 2006) was an American businessman most notable for his promotion of football, soccer, and tennis in the United States. With his brothers, he also attempted to corner the silver market. He was t ...

, the founder of the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

. This section of the highway passes near

Arrowhead Stadium Arrowhead Stadium is an American football stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. It primarily serves as the home venue of the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). It was built at the same time as neighboring Kauff ...

, the Chiefs' home stadium.

History

I-435 in Kansas City was built piece by piece starting in the mid-1960s and not finished until 1987. In 1965, the first segment of I-435 was built and opened between I-35 and US 69 (which, at that time, was signed with Metcalf Avenue) near

Overland Park, Kansas Overland Park ( ) is the largest city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and the List of cities in Kansas#Highest population listing, second-most populous city in the state of Kansas. It is one of four principal city, principal cities in ...

. A second segment was opened the same year between

I-70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to I-695 and Maryland Route 570 (MD 570) in Woodlawn, just outside Baltimore, Maryland. I-70 appr ...

and US 50 in eastern Kansas City, Missouri, but the two were not connected. The eastern segment of I-435 was extended south to Gregory Boulevard and north past 22nd Street/ Route 78 by 1968. By 1969, I-435 was fully built between these two segments, through southern and eastern Kansas City. The freeway was extended from 22nd Street/Route 78 to US 24 two years later. In 1973, I-435 was extended north from the former terminus of US 24 across the Missouri River to I-35 in Claycomo. It now extended halfway around the city. In 1983, a small segment was opened on the outskirts of Kansas City north between US 169 and Route 291 near

(KCI). Later, this small segment was connected with the rest of the freeway. A segment was built heading almost due north from I-35 in Claycomo to Route 291/Cookingham Drive at North Reinking Road, curving due west from there to US 169. In this year, the southwest end was also extended to K-10. In 1987, the freeway was opened all the way around the city. The northwest end was signed on I-29 for northwest, then exited near Platte City and bore south on the westside of KCI. It crossed several small highways before crossing the Missouri River into

Wyandotte County, Kansas Wyandotte County () is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and most populous city is Kansas City, with which it shares a unified government. As of the 2020 census, the population was 169,245, making it Kansas's fourth ...

. It continued generally south or southwest, crossed several state highways and I-70, then the

Kaw River The Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, is a meandering river in northeastern Kansas in the United States. It is potentially the southwestern most part of the Missouri River drainage, which is sometimes in turn the northwesternmost portion of ...

, before connecting with the former southwest end at K-10.

Exit list

Notes

References

External links

* Kansas Highway Maps
CurrentHistoric
KDOT {{Crossings navbox , structure = Crossings , place =

Missouri River The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...