Take a drive through the northern arc of Greater St. Louis as we follow Interstate 270 westbound for 15 miles, beginning at the Mississippi River crossing from Illinois and ending in the inner-ring suburb of Bridgeton, Missouri. This stretch of I-270 forms part of the beltway encircling the St. Louis metro area, and the journey offers a front-row view into the complex web of interstates, suburban communities, and evolving infrastructure that define the northern edge of the city.
Our drive begins as we cross the new Chain of Rocks Bridge, an elegant replacement for the infamous original span that once carried U.S. 66 traffic. The new structure, completed in recent years, glides over the wide, often muddy waters of the Mississippi River and marks the formal entrance into Missouri. Almost immediately, the highway offers up its first major junction at MO-367, a connector heading north toward the older riverfront neighborhoods and south toward Bellefontaine Neighbors and beyond. To our right, the historic Missouri River floodplain spreads out briefly, a reminder of just how much this region is shaped by water.
As we cruise into Florissant, we begin to sense the shift from floodplain to suburban sprawl. Florissant is one of the oldest and most populous suburbs in St. Louis County, originally settled by French colonists in the late 1700s. Today, it’s a busy residential hub, and the traffic on I-270 reflects that. We soon meet the interchange with Interstate 170, the inner north-south freeway that shuttles drivers toward Clayton and the heart of the St. Louis business district. Just beyond, we pass the junction with US-67—known locally as Lindbergh Boulevard—a heavily commercialized corridor that traces the outer edge of North County.
In Hazelwood, the landscape starts to tilt more industrial. Distribution centers and light manufacturing outfits line the corridor, an echo of the postwar boom that turned these farmlands into economic engines. It’s here that we veer gently southwest and meet the eastern terminus of Missouri Route 370, a connector that heads west across the Missouri River toward St. Charles County. MO-370 was built in the 1990s as a more direct route for freight and commuters—testament to the region’s continual adaptation to traffic demands and suburban expansion.
Our journey concludes just a couple of miles later as we exit I-270 at MO-180 in Bridgeton. This city, once the site of the famed Rock Road, played a critical role in early Missouri transportation and today remains a key node in the region’s web of suburbs. MO-180, known locally as St. Charles Rock Road, is one of the oldest roads in the state—once a plank road ferrying goods from St. Charles to St. Louis. While modern infrastructure has replaced wooden planks with concrete and cloverleafs, the spirit of regional movement and connection remains strong.
This short but meaningful loop around the northern St. Louis metro illustrates how interstates like I-270 serve as both conduits for modern life and markers of the region’s layered history—from river crossings and French settlements to wartime industry and 21st-century logistics hubs. As we exit into Bridgeton, the hum of traffic behind us, we’re reminded that these roads are more than asphalt—they’re living arteries in the body of a changing American city.
🗺️ Route Map
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