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JEFFERSON CITY — State officials are set to break ground next week on a massive reconstruction of Interstate 70 across Missouri’s midsection.

In a June 13 event in Columbia, at a hotel where the interstate crosses U.S. Highway 63, Gov. Mike Parson and transportation officials will mark the launch of a $2.8 billion project that could tie up traffic on the busy cross-country trucking route for the next six years.

On tap is the addition of a lane of traffic in both directions from Wentzville to Blue Springs, as well as adjustments to entrance and exit ramps along the 200-mile route to accommodate the widened roadway.

The project has been in the planning and bidding stages since last year, when the House and Senate signed off on a plan that had been discussed for nearly two decades.

Among those expected to attend is Sen. Lincoln Hough, a Springfield Republican who chairs the Senate Appropriation Committee and is running to become lieutenant governor.

“Obviously, the project is important. It’s been a priority for the state for 20-plus years. I just happened to be at the right place at the right time to put this package together with the governor’s administration,� Hough said.

The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission in February awarded a $405 million contract to widen the section from Columbia to Kingdom City as part of the first phase of the project. The work by construction firm  is expected to be completed by 2027.

The Missouri Department of Transportation says it will keep two lanes of traffic open in both directions while construction is underway.

Following that segment will be work between Wentzville and Warrenton, which includes adding a third lane in each direction under a railroad bridge at a curve in Wentzville and farther east.

The work also will include upgrades to the I-70 interchange with Highway 40 (Interstate 64) and Highway 61, on the east end of Wentzville.