Interstate 29: Southern Terminus – Kansas City Missouri

Take a quick but compelling ride into the heart of Kansas City as we follow the final leg of Interstate 29 to its southern terminus, a stretch that condenses a surprising amount of riverfront industry, skyline views, and high-speed interchanges into less than two miles. This brief journey begins with a commanding crossing of the Missouri River, a natural boundary and historic lifeline for this region. As we descend from the bridge into the urban core, the distant downtown towers rise into view, framed by the steel web of highway ramps and overpasses that define this corner of the metro.

Just past the river, we encounter the interchange with Front Street—a key industrial connector serving the warehouse and rail-lined districts of northeastern Kansas City. Here, the road flattens and the landscape shifts. The wide lanes of I-29 sweep gently through a no-man’s-land of floodplains and rail yards, buffered by levees and utility corridors. On this approach, there’s a sense of both arrival and transition: the highway that began near the Canadian border is reaching its final mile, giving way to the complex web of interstates that crisscross the Kansas City metro.

We soon reach the southern terminus of I-29 at the sprawling interchange with Interstate 70 and Interstate 35, although westbound connections are closed in this particular video. This tangle of highways is more than just a technical end point—it marks a seam in the city’s infrastructure, where north-south and east-west corridors converge. But the drive doesn’t quite end here. We continue another mile southward, skimming along the downtown loop as we approach the elevated lanes of Interstate 670 and U.S. Highway 71. This final stretch dips into the Power & Light District, a cultural and entertainment hub, before we conclude the video turning westbound onto I-670—completing a journey that ties together the rural north with the urban heartbeat of Kansas City.

This short but meaningful segment serves as both a terminus and a gateway—where the long haul of I-29 comes to a close, and a new journey through the vibrant streets and interstates of Kansas City begins. It’s a drive that encapsulates the transition from wide-open plains to structured city grid, from the Great Plains to the crosshairs of American commerce.

This video was originally produced in collaboration with CrossCounty Travelers, a now-retired travel group.