The downtown loop in Kansas City — four miles of highway arteries that form a boundary around Kansas City, Missouri's, central business district – turns 50 this month with its completion on Oct. 26, 1972. 🎂
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Kansas City residents first saw a vision of the Loop in the city’s 1947 “Master Plan for Kansas City,” which was designed to move the city into the modern world. Construction of the entire Loop took almost 20 years.
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Construction of the Downtown Loop’s northern stretch began in 1953. The “Intercity Freeway” was dedicated Oct. 7, 1957.
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Construction of the eastern stretch of the Loop began in 1958. The Southeast Freeway, as it was called, would connect the Loop’s northeast corner to Interstate 70. The eastern portion of the Loop was dedicated Aug. 17, 1962.
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Work on the southern edge of the Loop began in 1961. The “Crosstown Freeway” was dedicated July 20, 1967, with a speech by Missouri Highway Commission Chairman Jack Stapleton.
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