Downtown Loop (Kansas City)

Downtown Loop
The southern portion of the loop (Interstate 670) at night

Location
Kansas City, Missouri
Coordinates	39°06′06″N 94°34′57″W / 39.1017°N 94.5825°W / 39.1017; -94.5825
Roads at junction	I-29 I-35 I-70 I-670 US 24 US 40 US 71 US 169 Route 9
Construction
Type	Loop around downtown
Maintained by	MoDOT

The Downtown Loop (nicknamed the Alphabet Loop) is a complex layout of highways in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri involving 24 exits, four Interstate Highways, four U.S. Highways, and numerous city streets. Each exit is numbered 2 and suffixed with every letter of the alphabet except I and O (to avoid confusion with the numbers 1 and 0). The entire circumference of the loop is just over 4 miles (6.4 km).

Overview

The system is nicknamed the Alphabet Loop due to all exits having letter suffixes.^[1]^[2]^[3] 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) are 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 Z 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 Kansas City, Kansas, crosses over I-70 and enters the loop in the southwest corner, rejoining I-70 and ending in Kansas City, Missouri 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.

U.S. Route 40 overlaps I-70 throughout the northern and eastern sections of the loop.

U.S. Route 169 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

The west side of the loop was built over a scenic road called Kersey Coates Drive. It had many affluent homes, and stairs lead 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.^[4] The stairway from Case Park was cut off halfway and remains between exits 2W and 2X.

A March 2010 preliminary study^[5] 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. In 2022, plans were approved to construct a $160 million cap over a stretch of I-670, on the loop's southern half. The cap is planned to be topped with a public park called South Loop Link.^[6]

Exit list

The following is the list of exits inside the loop in order as encountered if entering the loop from eastbound I-70.

Clockwise exits

The entire route is in Kansas City, Jackson County.

mi	Exit	Destinations	Notes
	2D	Main Street
	2E	Route 9 north / Oak Street
	2G	I-35 north / I-29 north	Left exit
	2H	US 24 Bus. east	Left exit
		I-70 east / US 40 east I-70 east to I-435 south – St. Louis, Joplin	Left exit
	2M	US 71 south	Left exit
	2L	I-670 to I-35 south	Continuation of Loop
	2S	Broadway
		I-70 alt / I-670 west	Left exit
	2T	I-35 south / I-35 north	Continuation of Loop
		I-35 south	Left exit
		I-35 north / 12th Street	Continuation of Loop
	2W	12th Street
	2X	I-70 west / US 40 west / US 169 south
	2Y	US 169 north
	2Z	Broadway
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Counterclockwise exits

The entire route is in Kansas City, Jackson County.

mi	Exit	Destinations	Notes
	2W	12th Street
		I-35 south
	2U	I-70 east	Continuation of Loop; left exit
	2M	US 71 south
		I-70 east / US 40 east I-70 east to I-435 south – St. Louis, Joplin
	2N	I-35 north / I-29 north / US 71 north	Continuation of Loop; left exit
	2H	To US 24 Bus. east / Route 9 north / Admiral Boulevard
	2G	I-29 north / I-35 north / US 71 north
	2F	Oak Street, Grand Avenue, Walnut Street
	2D	Main-Delaware, Wyandotte Street
	2C	US 169 north / Broadway
		I-70 west / US 40 west / US 169 south
	2A	I-35 south	Continuation of Loop
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi