Stuck on I-70 around Kansas City, on either side of the state line

Four details that make a location usable

A description like "on I-70 near downtown" covers several miles of freeway, two states and a tangle of ramps. Dispatchers, troopers and tow operators need something they can put a pin on. Before you call, and after the flashers are on, gather these:

• The highway. I-70. Around downtown Kansas City, Missouri, I-70 shares pavement with other routes, so say I-70 even if you also saw I-35 or US-71 on the signs.
• Your direction. Eastbound, toward Independence and St. Louis, or westbound, toward Kansas City, Kansas, Lawrence and Topeka. On a divided interstate, the wrong direction sends help to the other side of the median.
• The mile marker or last exit. The small green mile marker posts along the edge of the road are the most precise thing you can give. If you cannot see one, the number and name of the last exit you passed is the next best thing.
• The state. Kansas or Missouri. Near the line it is easy to be unsure, and the answer changes both the numbers and the agency.

Kansas City, Kansas: exits in the 400s

I-70's mileage in Kansas counts from the Colorado line, so by the time it reaches Kansas City, Kansas the exit numbers are in the 400s. The state line sits at roughly mile 423. Going east toward Missouri, the main exits on the Kansas side are:

• Exit 410, 110th Street. The Kansas Speedway exit.
• Exit 411, I-435. The interchange by the Kansas Speedway, where the metro loop crosses I-70.
• Exits 414 and 415. 78th Street, then the Turner Diagonal and College Parkway.
• Exits 417 and 418. 57th Street, then I-635.
• Exit 419, Park Drive and 38th Street.
• Exit 420, US-69 and 18th Street. Where the Kansas Turnpike designation ends.
• Exits 421 to 423. The downtown Kansas City, Kansas exits, including the I-670 and I-35 connection at 421B, just before the state line.

Crossing the line and the downtown loop

I-70 crosses into Missouri on the Lewis and Clark Viaduct, and Missouri's mileage for I-70 starts at zero there. So a truck a few hundred yards west of the line is near mile 423, and one a few hundred yards east is near mile 0. If you give a mile marker without the state, that gap is the source of the confusion.

Just inside Missouri, I-70 becomes part of the downtown freeway loop, where I-35 and I-70 meet. For a few miles, exits come close together and nearly all of them are numbered 2 with a letter. Along the loop, I-70 runs with I-35 at first and with US-71 on the east side. The south side of the loop is I-670, a short connector that runs across into Kansas. I-29 begins at the loop and heads north over the Missouri River with I-35.

On the loop, "exit 2" is not a location. The letter is. Exit 2L, for example, is the ramp to I-670 west and I-35 south, and other 2-plus-letter exits lead to downtown streets or other highways. If you stopped on a ramp, say which ramp and where it leads. If you are on the main lanes, say which highway numbers were on the last sign above you and the letter of the last exit.

East of downtown: Kansas City to Oak Grove

East of the loop, I-70 settles into ordinary exit numbers that climb with the mileage. The main interchanges heading east toward Independence, Blue Springs and beyond are:

• Exit 7A. Where US-40 splits off east at 31st Street.
• Exit 8, I-435. A large interchange with I-435 north and south, followed by exit 9 at the Blue Ridge Cutoff by the Truman Sports Complex.
• Exit 11, US-40 and Blue Ridge Boulevard. On the Kansas City and Independence boundary.
• Exits 12, 14 and 15 in Independence. Noland Road, Lee's Summit Road, and I-470 south with Route 291.
• Exit 17, Little Blue Parkway.
• Exits 18, 20 and 21 in Blue Springs. Woods Chapel Road, Route 7 and Adams Dairy Parkway.
• Exit 24 at Grain Valley and exit 28 at Oak Grove. Beyond Oak Grove the interstate leaves Jackson County.

Who to call from I-70

If the truck is in a traffic lane, if there has been a crash, or if there is fire or anyone hurt, the first call is an emergency call. The right shortcut depends on which state you are in:

• 911. Works on both sides of the line. Say the state early in the call, because a mobile 911 call is not guaranteed to reach the center for the side you are on. The FCC has said wireless 911 calls have traditionally been routed by the location of the cell tower handling them, which can send a call to a neighboring jurisdiction, and it adopted rules in 2024 requiring carriers to move to location-based routing.
• *55 in Missouri. The Missouri State Highway Patrol's cellular number, which connects to the nearest troop headquarters.
• *47 in Kansas. The Kansas Highway Patrol's cellular number, which reaches the nearest patrol dispatcher. On the Kansas Turnpike itself the number is *582.
• Your carrier or fleet dispatch. After the emergency call, so they can start the tow, the repair or the paperwork.
• The tow or repair company. With the same four location details you gave the patrol.

KC Scout and the Motorist Assist programs

Kansas City has a bi-state traffic management system, KC Scout, operated jointly by the Missouri and Kansas transportation departments. It watches the metro freeways with cameras, posts messages on the overhead digital signs and works to clear incidents quickly and safely. It is not a number you call for a tow, but it is part of why a stalled truck on a busy stretch may get noticed and have a warning posted upstream.

Missouri's Department of Transportation runs Emergency Response crews, the program its breakdown advice still calls Motorist Assist, in the Kansas City area around the clock. They help drivers with stalled vehicles, remove debris and respond to crashes, and their trucks carry fuel, water, jumper cables and tools for minor problems. MoDOT is clear that they do not replace other roadside assistance. On the Kansas side, the Kansas Highway Patrol runs a Motorist Assist program with the Kansas Department of Transportation for stranded drivers on the metro interstates.

For a loaded semi, these crews can help protect the scene and deal with small problems, but they are not a heavy wrecker or a truck mechanic. MoDOT's advice is to stay with the vehicle, because its crews cannot help if you are not there when they arrive. Plan on the patrol for the emergency and a heavy-duty tow or repair company for the truck.

Getting the truck off I-70

Once the scene is protected, the question is whether the truck gets fixed where it sits or towed. Our mobile truck repair in Kansas City covers faults such as air leaks, brake chambers, batteries, starters, alternators, cooling leaks and trailer lights, provided the truck is somewhere a mechanic can work without standing beside a live lane. Engine internals, transmissions and anything that needs a lift are shop work, and a truck stopped in a traffic lane is a tow first and a repair later.

For the tow itself, our heavy-duty towing in Kansas City covers loaded tractor-trailers on both sides of the line. Tell us the tractor and trailer type, whether it is loaded, whether it still builds air and rolls, and where you want it to go, whether that is your shop, your yard, a dealer or our yard in Liberty.

Local detail on both sides of the line is on our Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City, Kansas and Independence pages. If your breakdown is inside a lane closure, read our guide to breaking down in a construction zone before you step out of the cab.

Related reading

Semi Broke Down in a Construction Zone: What to Do — If the truck can still move safely, keep going until you clear the work zone.

Where Semis Can and Can't Drive in Kansas City — Semis may use Kansas City's interstates and state highways at legal size and weight: 102 inches wide and 80,000 pounds gross on the interstate.

Does AAA Cover Semi Trucks and Commercial Vehicles? — Usually not.