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I-66 in IL dead, replaced by Shawnee Parkway

Started by Lyon Wonder, January 02, 2016, 02:54:17 AM

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Rothman

Quote from: ukfan758 on February 10, 2016, 09:25:37 AM
Had it not been for lawmakers in southern Kentucky wanting it on the Cumberland Parkway, I-66 would only need about 10 miles of actual road building in Lexington, KY until the Paducah area, which would make this project potentially possible. They could have:

http://imgur.com/X48Eohp
1.Put I-66 on I-81
2.Carry it off onto I-64 all the way to Lexington
http://imgur.com/Q3ZLVxG
3. Build the 10 miles of interstate to connect the Bluegrass Parkway to I-64
http://imgur.com/YtcxEen
4. Upgrade bluegrass parkway
5. Rebuild the I-65/Western Kentucky Parkway interchange
http://imgur.com/oH1d2Nr
6. Upgrade Western Kentucky Parkway
7. I-66 then merges with I-69 (interchange is complete)
8. Merge with I-24
9. New roads would have to be constructed past this point to where it could go to Missouri and connect with I-57
http://imgur.com/3zwkyON

This way, there are no mountains to have to carve through which would costs hundreds of millions of dollars.

Routing I-66 all that way with all those concurrent miles for 10 miles outside of Lexington seems unnecessary to me.

Besides, I'm betting one of the selling points of I-66 in KY was that it would bring economic development to eastern and southern Kentucky.

Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.


ukfan758

#26
So that's why the Bluegrass Parkway ends at 60.  Would it make sense to then keep it on I-64, take I-265 down to I-65, and then transfer to the Western Kentucky Parkway? http://imgur.com/hX6ZpgA I know it's a non-direct route but then it would save millions by not having to upgrade the Bluegrass Parkway nor disrupting the valuable land near Lexington. I think there is talk of upgrading the 64-265 interchange which could make it suitable for I-66 to merge on. (Again, due to the funding going to the Cumberland(?) parkways, any of these routes are pretty much impossible unless legislation or funding is changed. Although it would be cheaper to go use this approach of using current interstates with minimal upgrades.)

How much do you guys think would it cost to go through the mountains anyways since that is the plan?

@Rothman, I just saw your reply, that is a good point. It would also probably get confusing for someone needing to stay on the freeway having to switch so many times.

silverback1065

none of this convinces me that another interstate is needed in either of these areas, seems like overkill to me.

ukfan758

Quote from: silverback1065 on February 10, 2016, 12:11:49 PM
none of this convinces me that another interstate is needed in either of these areas, seems like overkill to me.
Now the more I think of it, it does seem like too much  :-D.

US 41

Really all Kentucky needs to do is build a 4 lane toll road from Somerset to London, and then they can remove the tolls once the road is paid off like they did with their other parkways.

Also they could maybe build a two lane parkway (temporary toll or free) from Salyersville to Prestonsburg. Anything in eastern KY that is at least 4 lanes (US 23, KY 80, US 119) is probably good enough and doesn't need a parkway alternative. You can already drive from eastern KY to Charleston, WV on US 119 which is a 4 lane highway.
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Rothman

#30
Quote from: US 41 on February 10, 2016, 01:36:23 PM
You can already drive from eastern KY to Charleston, WV on US 119 which is a 4 lane highway.

Despite US 119 having four lanes, the slightly faster route is still US 23 to I-64 from Prestonsburg.

In regards the the Salyersville to Prestonsburg toll proposal, I'd imagine that Prestonsburg would object to the tolls on the basis that the US 23/KY 114 area grew after the original Mountain Parkway tolls came down, so they might view new tolls as a threat to business in an already hurting area economically.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

seicer

Well, the plans to upgrade KY 80 between Somerset and London are pretty much dead - dropped by the last administration and most likely not to be picked up by this administration. There just isn't the traffic to justify an interstate much less four-lanes through the Daniel Boone National Forest and across the Rockcastle Wild and Scenic River (a federal designation). It was also becoming a political hot pocket because the alternatives that were shown didn't really use much of the existing - and very well designed - KY 80, and instead veered off onto new terrain. I can't seem to find the plans anymore on KYTC's site, unfortunately.

Likewise, the Daniel Boone Parkway east of London has very little traffic, decades after it was completed. That won't increase in the coming decades as the population continues to bleed out.

The Mountain Parkway doesn't see that much traffic between Campton and Salyersville. From a system-wide standpoint, it makes sense to four-lane the parkway and KY 116 to 2016 standards to better facilitate future traffic demands, but I'm not sure those future projections will ever hold out. It's not like the eastern part of the state will grow in population in the coming years. From a safety standpoint, were there really that many head-on collisions? At least traffic will be able to move at 70 MPH instead of 55 MPH (not that it stops most anyways).

codyg1985

Was there a route that I-66 was supposed to take outside of Kentucky towards Virginia?
Cody Goodman
Huntsville, AL, United States

US 41

Quote from: codyg1985 on February 10, 2016, 02:06:50 PM
Was there a route that I-66 was supposed to take outside of Kentucky towards Virginia?

According to Wikipedia it was planned to start in Wichita, KS, and end at I-73/74 (currently US 52) just across the West Virginia state line. I don't think I-73/74 will ever be built in WV and I don't think we'll ever see I-66 either. Apparently there were never any plans to connect the two I-66s. Although I could've sworn that I had heard at some point they were going to build it to Beckley, but maybe not.

I also think the WV Turnpike would strongly oppose a new I-73/74 in West Virginia.
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seicer

The new US 52 alignment is projected to cost near $2 billion in West Virginia, which will be up to West Virginia's ARC corridor standards (65 MPH, intersections and interchanges). US 41, you are thinking of the Coalfields Expressway, which will be a part of US 121, between Beckley and somewhere near Welch. I can't remember what the western terminus is anymore.



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