I-66

[ColossalBlocks]

I heard some jibber jabber about I-66 running from I-44 (i think around Lebanon) to I-57 in Sikeston, then east to Kentucky, will this ever be attempted?

[Bobby5280]

The I-66 thing in Kentucky and Westward expansions of it seem like a really long shot pipe dream.

But if the funding was there to push I-66 from Kentucky into Missouri, my impression was the road would follow the US-60 corridor within Missouri. That would take the road well South of Lebanon. A multiplex with I-57 would be possible at its very end in Missouri and going into Southern Illinois near Cairo. IIRC, the I-66 route would have to make a short jump along the banks of the Ohio River to I-24 and multiplex with it into Kentucky before splitting off on its own I-66 parkway routes.

[sparker]

The I-66 thing in Kentucky and Westward expansions of it seem like a really long shot pipe dream.

But if the funding was there to push I-66 from Kentucky into Missouri, my impression was the road would follow the US-60 corridor within Missouri. That would take the road well South of Lebanon. A multiplex with I-57 would be possible at its very end in Missouri and going into Southern Illinois near Cairo. IIRC, the I-66 route would have to make a short jump along the banks of the Ohio River to I-24 and multiplex with it into Kentucky before splitting off on its own I-66 parkway routes.

What's interesting is the legally defined route of I-66 in KY takes the alignment well south of a Natcher/WKY combined alignment; more or less along US 68 and/or KY 80 west of Bowling Green.  It's probably an alignment motivated by local politics with as many towns & regions looking to get in on the action, so to speak.  But there was never anything resembling a finalized alignment in SE MO; some interests wanted the corridor to break off from US 60 well west of Poplar Bluff and pass through or near Cape Girardeau and cross through southern IL before multiplexing SE past Paducah with I-24.  Others (including some regular posters) envisioned remaining on US 60 and diverging from I-57/US 60 near Charleston, MO and crossing the Mississippi River near Wickliffe, KY.  before heading east to, presumably, Paducah.  This disparity hasn't been resolved as of yet; and it doesn't seem to be high on anyone's priority list in any case.  IMO, I-66 will remain an unfunded pipedream for the foreseeable future, although I wouldn't count out the Cumberland Parkway receiving some sort of "placeholder" designation in the interim. 

But even if some actual planning and development occurs, I don't see the corridor extending west of Springfield, MO in any instance.  Regardless of Wichita-based interests, there's no indication that a E-W facility through that area would attract enough consistent commercial traffic to make it viable.