Interstate 635 Kansas / Missouri

Overland Park, KS ↔ Kansas City, MO•12.67 miles

Overview

I-635 south across the Kansas River Bridge — Ramps from Interstate 70 join Interstate 635 south at the Kansas River Bridge. The pair of three lane bridges were completed in 1976, but are not fully Interstate standard due to narrow shoulders. 06/18/15

Interstate 635 in Kansas and Missouri provides a western bypass of Downtown Kansas City and truck route between Merriam, Kansas, and I-29 in north Kansas City, Missouri. The freeway serves the Santa Fe and Fairfax Industrial District on the Kansas side of the Missouri River and Horizons Business Park in Riverside, Missouri. The urban route also serves the Argentine, Quindaro Bluffs and Turner residential areas of Kansas City, Kansas. The south end of the freeway ties into U.S. 69 (Metcalf Avenue) from the commercial center of Mission.

The exit number sequence for I-635 in Kansas continues northward into Missouri. There are no control cities for the freeway in Kansas and signs on the Missouri side simply reference the state of Kansas. 2015 traffic counts along Interstate 635 in Kansas peaked at 77,200 vehicles per day (vpd) on the segment between K-32 and I-70/U.S. 24-40. Counts for I-635 in Missouri range from 49,125 vpd at the Missouri River to 53,542 vpd south of I-29.

Mileage by State

Kansas	8.90 mi
Missouri	3.77 mi

Data Sources

December 31, 2021 Interstate Route Log and Finders List

History

Missouri submitted Interstate 635 to the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) as part of its proposed Urban Route Numbering on July 31, 1958. It was approved along with I-435 (Kansas City Eastern Beltway) and I-470 on November 10, 1958. The November 1958 plan for I-635 took the route eastward along the freeway spur on K-5 to U.S. 69 (7th Street), and along U.S. 69 to the Platte Purchase and Fairfax Bridges across the Missouri River toward I-29 (Summes, 2003). This was shifted westward to a new alignment after 1968 when additional federal funding would pay for a new Missouri River crossing.

Construction of Interstate 635 began in 1969 (KDOT, 2005). The freeway was complete in 1975 from I-35 north to Kansas Avenue (K-32 / Old K-132), from State Avenue (old U.S. 24-73) north to Leavenworth Avenue (K-5 west), and from the Fairfax Bridge (U.S. 69 / Old U.S. 169) northward to I-29/U.S. 71 in Riverside, Missouri. I-635 was finished by 1977.

Kansas City - 1967 Official Kansas Highway Map — The proposed route of Interstate 635 in 1967. The initial alignment for I-635 was slated to use the Fairfax Bridge built in 1933 and the Platte Purchase Bridge built in 1957 across the Missouri River. The narrow spans for U.S. 69 were eventually replaced during a two-year project through December 2016.

Kansas City, MO - 1968 — The proposed alignment of Interstate 635 shifted northward in 1968 away from the Fairfax and Platte Purchase Bridges.

Kansas City, MO - 1972 — A short section of Interstate 635 was open by 1972 between State Avenue (former U.S. 24/73) and K-5 (Leavenworth Road). K-5 accompanies I- 635 between Exit 7 and Exit 8. The freeway spur east from I-635 to the Fairfax District was completed around 1976.

Interstate 635 was designated as the Harry Darby Memorial Highway in 1990. Completed in 2004, a $98 million project reconstructed the interchange between I-70 and I-635. The work replaced the bridges on I-70 westbound over I-635 and reconstructed I-635 between Kansas and State Avenues (KDOT, 2005).

A new diamond interchange (Exit 1) with Horizons Parkway opened to traffic in December 2007 just north of the Missouri River. The exit serves the Horizons Business Park and Argosy Casino. Horizons Parkway was built northward from I-635 to Missouri Route 9 in 2008 (Hyland, 2007), while Argosy Parkway was extended west to Exit 1 in 2009.

North End ‐ Kansas City, MO

North at

Just north of the split with U.S. 69, signs advise motorists of the forthcoming directional T interchange (Exits 12 A/B) with I-29/U.S. 71. I-29/U.S. 71 overlap southward to the Alphabet Loop (I-35 and I-70) at Downtown Kansas City and northward to the St. Joseph vicinity. 10/30/16

South at

I-29/U.S. 71 angles southeast along side Prairie View Road (former U.S. 71) to the small city of Houston Lake on the mile preceding Exit 3 C to Interstate 635 south. 06/18/15

North at

I-29/US 71 North 2.25 miles from I-635 in Kansas City, MO

I-29/U.S. 71 angle northwest from the freeway along U.S. 169 to Exit 1 B in the city of Northmoor. Left Exit 3 B follows in 2.25 miles for Interstate 635 south. 07/14/26

I-35 North 0.75 miles from I-635 South in Kansas City, Missouri

I-29/US 71 North at Route AA ahead of I-635 in Kansas City, MO

I-29/US 71 North at I-635 South to Kansas City, Kansas

North End – Past Views

Past Views Gallery (Tap to Expand / Collapse Section)

at

U.S. 169 previously overlapped with U.S. 69 north from 7th Street in Kansas City, Kansas across the Platte Purchase Bridge onto I-635 north. Photo by Michael Summa (1989).

I-29/US 71 south at I-635/Route A - 2001

I-29/US 71 north ahead of I-635 in Northmoor, MO

I-29/US 71 north at I-635 - Kansas City, MO

South End ‐ Overland Park, KS

South at

Interstate 635 advances south from Shawnee Drive, three quarters of a mile to ramps for I-35 and U.S. 69. I-35 connects Kansas City, Missouri to the east with Olathe, Gardner and Ottawa to the southwest. 11/03/16

I-635 south at I-35/US 69 - Overland Park, KS

I-635 south at US 69 - Overland Park, KS

North at

I-35 North 0.75 miles ahead of I-635 in Merriam, Kansas

Interstate 35 curves east from Antioch Road and Turkey Creek to meet I-635 north at Exit 231 A in 0.75 miles. 07/13/26

I-35 North ahead of I-635 in Overland Park, Kansas

I-35 North at I-635 North in Overland Park, Kansas

South at

The first in a series of diagrammatic signs outlines Left Exit 231 A/B for both Interstate 635 north back into Kansas City and U.S. 69 south into Overland Park. 10/31/16

North at

U.S. 69 (Metcalf Avenue) straddles the Overland Park and Mission city line to the freeway beginning of Interstate 635 north. 11/03/16

South End – Past Views

Past Views Gallery (Tap to Expand / Collapse Section)

North at

Overheads along I-35 from Exit 230 for Antioch Road in Merriam north to Interstate 635 were replaced in kind by 2019. 06/19/15

I-35 north at I-635/US 69 - Overland Park, KS

References

Summers, S. (2003, June 18). Interstate System Route Numbering. Retrieved from http://www.nwindianahwys.homestead.com/INTER_MAIN.HTML

Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT). (2005). Kansas Interstate 50th Anniversary. Retrieved from https://www.ksdot.org/interstate50th/default.asp

Hyland, A. (2007, October 31). The new interchange on Interstate 635 leading to Horizons Parkway should be open by the second week of December, Riverside and state transportation. The Kansas City Star.

Updated August 28, 2026