ST. LOUIS – Missouri could soon have a new interstate highway.
State lawmakers have approved $2.5 million to study the conversion of US Route 36 into Interstate 72. According to FOX 2’s partners at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the interstate would run between Hannibal in the east and St. Joseph in the west.
A representative from Hannibal says bringing Route 36 up to interstate standards would take pressure off of I-70, especially when construction to widen it gets underway.
The Missouri legislature has approved nearly $3 billion to widen I-70 to at least three lanes across the state.