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What is the purpose of the US 69 freeway in Kansas?

Started by I-39, May 24, 2017, 09:03:34 PM

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rte66man

Quote from: bugo on June 10, 2017, 07:21:36 PM
US 69 south of McAlester is terrible. Simply awful. If they built a parallel turnpike with a toll of $25 I'd happily pay it to avoid the abortion that is US 69.

Nexus 5X

FTFY. 

When a parallel turnpike was last proposed in the late 90's, it was shot down so fast the member that proposed it (from Little Dixie) had to pull it from a hearing in committee as he got ZERO votes in support.  At that time, the members from all of the towns that would be bypassed had tremendous stroke.  IMO, it would fare no better today because term limits make reps and senators even less likely to take on controversial issues.  While I agree it would be an excellent idea, the cost just from Caddo to McAlester would make it a money loser since you could easily shunpike on US69.  That doesn't even consider a Muskogee bypass as well as Wagoner, Pryor, etc.
When you come to a fork in the road... TAKE IT.

                                                               -Yogi Berra


bugo

It would get plenty of traffic. 69 is a monstrosity and if trucks could bypass it for a few dollars, they would. It would be safer and faster and would save companies fuel money.

J N Winkler

What exactly is wrong with US 69 south of McAlester?  A very casual inspection in Google Maps shows it is four-lane divided in rural areas with undivided urban sections, similar to US 287 in Texas just south of the Red River, US 81 from north of Enid south to El Reno, or US 75 between I-40 and Tulsa.  I can't imagine it being all that bad unless access control is seriously lacking or there is heavy stoplight infestation in places like Atoka.
"It is necessary to spend a hundred lire now to save a thousand lire later."--Piero Puricelli, explaining the need for a first-class road system to Benito Mussolini

bugo

Traffic lights, speed limits that change every few miles, dangerous at-grades, Barney Fife.

rte66man

Quote from: J N Winkler on June 12, 2017, 08:40:20 PM
What exactly is wrong with US 69 south of McAlester?  A very casual inspection in Google Maps shows it is four-lane divided in rural areas with undivided urban sections, similar to US 287 in Texas just south of the Red River, US 81 from north of Enid south to El Reno, or US 75 between I-40 and Tulsa.  I can't imagine it being all that bad unless access control is seriously lacking or there is heavy stoplight infestation in places like Atoka.

It's mostly Tushka and Atoka with a taste of Calera (soon to be remedied) and Stringtown (home of Oklahoma's most famous speed trap).  As mentioned upthread, the volume of truck traffic can make travel seem to take FOREVER.
When you come to a fork in the road... TAKE IT.

                                                               -Yogi Berra

I-39

Quote from: rte66man on June 13, 2017, 11:06:14 AM
Calera (soon to be remedied)

What is going to happen in Calera?

EDIT: I see, they are doing partial freeway conversion. When will it be constructed?

I don't understand why they just don't go ahead and do the whole section between Colbert and Durant.

Scott5114

Quote from: I-39 on June 13, 2017, 09:22:24 PM
I don't understand why they just don't go ahead and do the whole section between Colbert and Durant.

Oklahoma hates doing big projects, and will go to extremes to avoid doing so (see the I-44/I-235 and I-35/I-240 interchanges in OKC, which have been split into an absolutely absurd number of phases taking place over a decade or so). There's also the ever-present financial crunch that makes lawmakers blanch at the thought of committing so much money to a project.
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

J N Winkler

According to the materials I found on the Calera project, the ultimate plan is to do all eight miles that currently lack access control, but for FastLane grant application purposes they are concentrating just on the four miles in Calera itself that has nearly all of the problems.  Even that is estimated to cost $120 million.

The FastLane grant application materials date from 2016, and I do not see any evidence that a construction contract has been advertised yet.

Speaking as someone who has recently travelled from Dallas to Oklahoma City via Durant and Ada specifically to avoid I-35E construction in Dallas and Denton counties, I found going through Calera to be a nuisance, but by far the most painful part was actually going two-lane between Durant and Tishomingo on SH 22 and SH 78.  Right-of-way width is very narrow and I think the unit lane width is probably as low as 10 ft, which makes tracking painful especially when there is a crosswind.

Oklahoma has invested so little in its two-lane state highway system over the past three decades compared to Kansas and even Nebraska that the lags are really glaring not just in terms of surface condition but also geometric parameters (lots of blind summits) and roadside development (steep ditch slopes often starting right at the shoulder stripe, even on highways with modern unit lane width of 12 ft).  Since quite a lot of my out-of-state travel is in Oklahoma because it is by far the closest to Wichita, I have been thinking that I need to find some sort of pavement log so that I am not relying just on Google and the latest Oklahoma official state map to find good driving roads.
"It is necessary to spend a hundred lire now to save a thousand lire later."--Piero Puricelli, explaining the need for a first-class road system to Benito Mussolini

rte66man

I posted this over on the "US69 Improvements in OK" thread:


ODOT has announced a public meeting regarding the proposed improvements to US69/75 in Calera:

https://www.ok.gov/triton/modules/newsroom/newsroom_article.php?id=277&article_id=33238
When you come to a fork in the road... TAKE IT.

                                                               -Yogi Berra



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