 |
| I drove the Grandview triangle every day for 6 years. Worst case of traffic engineering on the planet. I can't remember any time from the mid '60s that serious work wasn't being done on 71 highway. |
Posted on 07/20/2006 7:09:18 PM PDT by Huntress
Christian County commuters traveling into Springfield's east side can look forward to three levels of highway driving if a proposed redesign of the U.S. Highway 60/65 interchange north of Ozark is approved.
The Missouri Dept. of Transportation released its plans for the redesigned interchange at a public meeting July 13 at its offices in Springfield. Visitors were able to view numerous conceptual designs for the project and discuss the work with MoDOT planners.
The preferred plan introduced at the meeting features two directional fly-over ramps which will replace two of the ramps in the current cloverleaf pattern. The older pattern was designed and built in the 1960s, when traffic through the interchange was a fraction of what it is today.
Following the redesign of the interchange, considered to be one of Missouri's most dangerous, it would be able to safely conduct motorists into 2031, the date MoDOT says it is targeting in its plans. At that time, the agency has predicted about 192,000 vehicles will travel over the interchange every day, up from the current 120,000.
MoDOT listed as reasons for the redesign a number of problems facing motorists who pass through the interchange and adjoining roads each day, including:
*The intersection of U.S. 60 with railroad tracks just west of the interchange, which causes unsafe traffic stoppages;
*Very short lengths of roadway afforded to drivers who are entering or exiting the interchange by way of the four short cloverleaf-style ramps;
*The unacceptably low clearance of the bridge carrying U.S. 65 over U.S. 60, as well as the poor condition of the bridge in general;
*The poor condition of the bridge on U.S. 60 westbound which crosses the James River; and
*A steep grade motorists must traverse as U.S. 60 approaches Glenstone west of the interchange.
"The conceptual plan will take care of everything that is needed for at least the next 20 years," said MoDOT Transportation Project Manager Linda Bokel, "except for additional lanes needed on 65 and on 60 west of 65." Bokel said the needed additional lanes are the only redesign elements needed that lack funding under the proposed redesign, but the preferred design will provide the framework necessary for widening the roads when the funds become available.
Bokel said $50 million of the estimated $60 million needed to complete the proposed redesign is already available through Amendment 3 funds, which were approved by Missouri voters in Nov. 2004. The remaining $10 million would be drawn from a "taking care of the system" fund, as Bokel described it, which provides funding for rehabilitation and repair work to existing roads.
If the proposed design for the new interchange is approved, MoDOT will begin to acquire right of way from a number of property owners, including City Utilities, and begin construction on the project sometime in 2009. The new interchange would be completed in 2011, according to MoDOT.
MoDOT is still accepting public comments on the proposed redesign. Comments can be submitted to: Missouri Dept. of Transportation, Design Dept., M.P.O. Box 868, Springfield, MO 65801. They can also be submitted via MoDOT's project Web site at www.6065interchange.org.
Got it...they intend to build a better deathtrap? LOL!
I always hate traveling the east side of Springfield, and especially that interchange. (The cloverleaf of death!)
The Grandview triangle south of KC is worse, and I always hated the Dan Ryan expressway in Chicago during rush hour.
|
| I drove the Grandview triangle every day for 6 years. Worst case of traffic engineering on the planet. I can't remember any time from the mid '60s that serious work wasn't being done on 71 highway. |
They are working on it right now. We'll see.
The Grandview Triangle is awful, but my personal pet peeve is the Bruce R. Watkins Expressway portion of US 71. It could have been an excellent thoroughfare for the east side of KC if they had not put those @#$$%& traffic lights on it. It's supposed to be an expressway, but it's just another busy street.
Build a better deathtrap, and the world will crash a path to your door.
Johnny "Guitar" Watson, 1953
LOL. That is indeed quite a headline.
That and the fact that I understand that at times you may be a duck in a shooting gallery. On the occasions that I went over to the VA hospital I would get off at Emmanuel Cleaver II and take the local to avoid the "Drive" and Linwood.
In addition to problems for the drivers it looks like they built it right over the path of the river. Not that its a large river, but someday it may want to take back its own.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.