The US state of Missouri has won federal approval for a $4bn project to revamp Interstate 70 to create separate lanes for cars and trucks.

The project involves redesigning a 30-mile section of the I-70 so that trucks can run in the two inside lanes in each direction with a grass median separating them from cars, and a concrete barrier separating the two directions.

In some places, truck drivers would take a ramp into the general traffic lanes to exit from the interstate and in other places, trucks would use interchanges specifically built for them.

The project is first of its kind in the country and is aimed at supporting the increased demand for freight and passenger traffic crossing Missouri.

The project could also become a part of an 800-mile corridor stretching from Kansas City to the Ohio/West Virginia border in future.