St. Louis Arch Grounds competition - the death of I-70 and relocated IL 3?

[Revive 755]

http://www.cityarchrivercompetition.org/

Summary of the five finalists as related to transportation infrastructure from looking through the smaller board files (just starting on the large narrative pdf files)

Behnisch Team
- Acknowledges removal of I-70 ramps to/from PSB
- Memorial Drive shifted to west side of I-70, Poplar to Walnut, Pine to Washington
- I-70 Cap, Walnut to Pine
- New Poplar Street (the surface street) bridge over I-70
- New ped bridges at Spruce, Clark, Olive, and Locust Streets
- Clark Avenue walkway between 4th and Memorial requires demolishing part of the Millennium Hotel
- Removes Option to remove I-70 later on, replaces highway with north-south Metrolink line (currently planned as street running on and around 14th Street)
- No relocated IL 3, unless it is on the Illinois side map (Page 4/8) The 100+ MB pdf narrative does acknowledge the relocated IL 3 on the right side of Page 57/147

MVVA Team
- Acknowledges relocated IL 3 (Page 2/8)
- Appears to Simplify the Washington/Memorial/Eads Bridge disaster to a better four point intersection
- Removal of Lenoir K. Sullivan Drive (the street along the river on the Missouri side)
- I-70 Cap around Market and Chestnut Streets (cap extends slightly beyond the current overpasses
- Memorial Drive is shifted to overhang I-70 more.

PWP Team
- Apparently no relocated IL 3
- Converts Walnut Street to two way west of Memorial Drive
- Memorial Drive beocomes a two lane street north of Walnut using the current SB lanes, and closed completely north of Pine Stree
- I-70 cap between Market and Chestnut Streets
- New half diamond interchange on the south side of Washington Street/Eads Bridge
- Memorial/Eads Bridge/Washington five point is fixed with the removal of Memorial for the new highway ramps and closure of Washington Street east of I-70
- Realigns Convention Plaza into a two-way street under I-70
- Removes current I-70 access to/from the MLK Bridge, but leaves the current WB entrance for NB 4th Street traffic.
- New ramps and one-way pair from I-55 near current 7th Street interchange feeding into downtown
- Possibly the best plan for traffic operations

Som Team
- Acknowledges future removal of I-70 ramps to/from PSB
- Acknowledges relocated IL 3, but desires more access and a slight alignment shift (narrative, Page 298/337)
- Adds I-70 ped tunnel bridge between
- Apparently narrows streets west of I-70, but is vague here
- Reopens upper deck of MacArthur Bridge for pedestrians, with new East St. Louis approach
- Expands sidewalk on south side of Eads Bridge

WM Team
- Removes I-70 after 2015 (Page 1/8, lower right corner)
- Cap over I-70 between Market and Chestnut, with closure of Memorial Drive between these two streets (narrative, Page 100/147)
- Acknowledges future removal of I-70 ramps to/from PSB
- Traffic calming on Memorial Drive?
- No relocated IL 3?
- Expanded Eads Bridge sidewalk, but narrows the bridge to two lanes from four (Page 70/147 of narrative)
- New bent arch ped walkway attachment on the north side of the PSB
- Adds bridges over L. K. Sullivan Drive

EDIT 2:
And there's already a Post-Dispatch editorial whose writer obviously never uses the depressed section to access I-70 from I-55:
http://www.stltoday.com/business/columns/building-blocks/article_dda549ac-aa4b-11df-830c-0017a4a78c22.html

[Revive 755]

Revised plan closes Memorial Drive between Walnut and Pine Streets:
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/article_acfdcd8e-29a7-11e0-8712-0017a4a78c22.html

Sure, let's make it harder to access alternatives to the PSB.  The closure will probably also do wonders for ballgame traffic (which already seems to back up onto the PSB.

EDIT:  New plan does have getting near-direct interstate access to the Eads Bridge going for it though, and possibly better access to the MLK from the south:
http://www.cityarchrivercompetition.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/MVV_Public_Presentation_1_26_11.pdf (Page 6/36)

EDIT 2:
* (Page 23/36 and Page 24/36) Not sure making the Eads Bridge two plus a center reversible lane in order expand the sidewalk on the south side is the best idea - sure the bridge is underutilized now, but better interstate access could easily throw current volume estimates out the window.

* (Page 24/36) Doesn't look like the MLK would be accessible from the new WB I-70 exit without cutting west from what I can see.  Given that the Great Lemon Bridge should be open, they ought to go ahead and take a greater look at possibly redoing the western edge.  Probably should also look at a connection between Convention Plaza and SB Memorial.

* (Page 27/36 and Page 34/36)  Looks like relocated IL 3 will get some decent length viaducts.