I-57 Approved

[I-39]

Oh, nice, This is seriously good news to hear! Thanks all on the 411 about amazon, never thought I would see wal mart have competition in Arkansas

K-Mart tried, but failed. Ditto Venture and Gibson's.

K-mart Tried but failed damn near everywhere. They did start their Super K-Mart experiment and built a Store in Rogers. That store closed when they pulled the plug on Super K's, that had a lot to do with them using Fleming as it's food distributor. Fleming had also bought out Malone and Hyde out of Memphis. That did Fleming in. Otherwise K Mart held on in Springdale till a couple of years ago. When most others had closed.

If Kroger introduced a Dillion's Marketplace back into the market at the right locations, they would do well. Too many folks have moved in in that had other options and aren't Walmart loyal. Kroger pulled Dullions out 10 years ago because their Store were old and small and not worth the trouble. They'd knee cap Harps big time.

I am shocked there is no Costco yet.  All those new Sam's were a launch across the bow but most would shop at Costco as well, especially the new transplants.

Amazon is about to build a large dc in Lowell AR.  Not those rinky dinks mentioned  above.

With Wal-Mart being based in NWA, it's tough for anyone else to get a toe hold.  I remember when IGA was the force to be reckoned with.

In theory, with their background, Sears would have been the perfect Amazon killer, but over the years (from perhaps as far back as the 70s, they kept shooting themselves in the foot so much that they lost all their toes, and then started amputating other appendages, so there is basically nothing left of value (except memories).

Sears decline began in the 80s when they lost focus on what mattered and tried to be everything to everyone, putting a strain on the overall business. This lead to Walmart surpassing them by 1990. They further shot themselves in the foot when they closed the catalog business in 1993 and dismantled the underlying infrastructure. Had they kept it going, they would've been in a position to be as big as Amazon/Walmart today.

[rte66man]

Oh, nice, This is seriously good news to hear! Thanks all on the 411 about amazon, never thought I would see wal mart have competition in Arkansas

K-Mart tried, but failed. Ditto Venture and Gibson's.

K-mart Tried but failed damn near everywhere. They did start their Super K-Mart experiment and built a Store in Rogers. That store closed when they pulled the plug on Super K's, that had a lot to do with them using Fleming as it's food distributor. Fleming had also bought out Malone and Hyde out of Memphis. That did Fleming in. Otherwise K Mart held on in Springdale till a couple of years ago. When most others had closed.

If Kroger introduced a Dillion's Marketplace back into the market at the right locations, they would do well. Too many folks have moved in in that had other options and aren't Walmart loyal. Kroger pulled Dullions out 10 years ago because their Store were old and small and not worth the trouble. They'd knee cap Harps big time.

I am shocked there is no Costco yet.  All those new Sam's were a launch across the bow but most would shop at Costco as well, especially the new transplants.

Amazon is about to build a large dc in Lowell AR.  Not those rinky dinks mentioned  above.

With Wal-Mart being based in NWA, it's tough for anyone else to get a toe hold.  I remember when IGA was the force to be reckoned with.

In theory, with their background, Sears would have been the perfect Amazon killer, but over the years (from perhaps as far back as the 70s, they kept shooting themselves in the foot so much that they lost all their toes, and then started amputating other appendages, so there is basically nothing left of value (except memories).

Sears decline began in the 80s when they lost focus on what mattered and tried to be everything to everyone, putting a strain on the overall business. This lead to Walmart surpassing them by 1990. They further shot themselves in the foot when they closed the catalog business in 1993 and dismantled the underlying infrastructure. Had they kept it going, they would've been in a position to be as big as Amazon/Walmart today.

Although I believe your idea is good, I think they would have found some way to "shoot themselves" in the foot if they had kept the catalog business. Their management was really hosed up during that time

[I-39]

Oh, nice, This is seriously good news to hear! Thanks all on the 411 about amazon, never thought I would see wal mart have competition in Arkansas

K-Mart tried, but failed. Ditto Venture and Gibson's.

K-mart Tried but failed damn near everywhere. They did start their Super K-Mart experiment and built a Store in Rogers. That store closed when they pulled the plug on Super K's, that had a lot to do with them using Fleming as it's food distributor. Fleming had also bought out Malone and Hyde out of Memphis. That did Fleming in. Otherwise K Mart held on in Springdale till a couple of years ago. When most others had closed.

If Kroger introduced a Dillion's Marketplace back into the market at the right locations, they would do well. Too many folks have moved in in that had other options and aren't Walmart loyal. Kroger pulled Dullions out 10 years ago because their Store were old and small and not worth the trouble. They'd knee cap Harps big time.

I am shocked there is no Costco yet.  All those new Sam's were a launch across the bow but most would shop at Costco as well, especially the new transplants.

Amazon is about to build a large dc in Lowell AR.  Not those rinky dinks mentioned  above.

With Wal-Mart being based in NWA, it's tough for anyone else to get a toe hold.  I remember when IGA was the force to be reckoned with.

In theory, with their background, Sears would have been the perfect Amazon killer, but over the years (from perhaps as far back as the 70s, they kept shooting themselves in the foot so much that they lost all their toes, and then started amputating other appendages, so there is basically nothing left of value (except memories).

Sears decline began in the 80s when they lost focus on what mattered and tried to be everything to everyone, putting a strain on the overall business. This lead to Walmart surpassing them by 1990. They further shot themselves in the foot when they closed the catalog business in 1993 and dismantled the underlying infrastructure. Had they kept it going, they would've been in a position to be as big as Amazon/Walmart today.

Although I believe your idea is good, I think they would have found some way to "shoot themselves" in the foot if they had kept the catalog business. Their management was really hosed up during that time

Maybe, but the point is keeping the catalog business going would have allowed them to keep the underlying infrastructure which would have made the transition to e-commerce much easier. They had all the cards to be just as dominate as Amazon, they just totally misplayed them. Really is a great shame.

[Bobby5280]

Over the past two decades most of the misfortunes of Sears have been directly related to Eddie Lampert and his hedge fund company. Previous executives did make a series of stupid mistakes. But Lampert ran what was left of Sears since the year 2000 straight into the toilet. They wouldn't pay to maintain anything. Cheapest of cheapskates. I know this personally because my mother worked at Sears for over 20 years, the first few here in Lawton and then for nearly 20 years in Colorado Springs. The last few years our Lawton location of Sears inside Central Mall was in operation it was so run down looking that most thrift stores looked better. JCPenney is in terrible shape and suffered very stupid strategic errors from former CEOs over the previous decade, but at least JCPenney tried keeping their stores looking presentable. The executives at Sears didn't even allow for that.

These "private equity" companies who buy up other companies are like vultures. They literally pick apart and ruin what they acquire. I use a certain graphics application pretty heavily in my day job. The software company that makes it has been bought and sold by two different private equity companies and both appear to be doing their best to put this software company out of business. Adobe is a juggernaut and this smaller rival is just not being provided the resources it needs to remain as a viable alternative.

[I-39]

Over the past two decades most of the misfortunes of Sears have been directly related to Eddie Lampert and his hedge fund company. Previous executives did make a series of stupid mistakes. But Lampert ran what was left of Sears since the year 2000 straight into the toilet. They wouldn't pay to maintain anything. Cheapest of cheapskates. I know this personally because my mother worked at Sears for over 20 years, the first few here in Lawton and then for nearly 20 years in Colorado Springs. The last few years our Lawton location of Sears inside Central Mall was in operation it was so run down looking that most thrift stores looked better. JCPenney is in terrible shape and suffered very stupid strategic errors from former CEOs over the previous decade, but at least JCPenney tried keeping their stores looking presentable. The executives at Sears didn't even allow for that.

These "private equity" companies who buy up other companies are like vultures. They literally pick apart and ruin what they acquire. I use a certain graphics application pretty heavily in my day job. The software company that makes it has been bought and sold by two different private equity companies and both appear to be doing their best to put this software company out of business. Adobe is a juggernaut and this smaller rival is just not being provided the resources it needs to remain as a viable alternative.

These are great points and I'd like to discuss this further, but we probably should move this to the off topic section and get this thread back to the I-57 extension.

[capt.ron]

Just north of the MO/AR line... a future I-57 sign greets drivers heading north.
https://www.google.com/maps/@36.5039095,-90.5398204,3a,75y,2.75h,103.1t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sFyYujw0oki28b2Xjtc5ffg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

[3467]

Missouri likes future Interstates it has no money for. 57 gets added to 49 and 72.
Also will Arkansas ask Illinois to change the control city to Little Rock from Memphis?
Be warned though if there is a fight with Memphis ,Illinois could just change it to
" Southern States"

[-- US 175 --]

Just north of the MO/AR line... a future I-57 sign greets drivers heading north.
https://www.google.com/maps/@36.5039095,-90.5398204,3a,75y,2.75h,103.1t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sFyYujw0oki28b2Xjtc5ffg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

I wonder when they put that sign up.  It wasn't there the last time I looked at this area on GSV.

[I-39]

Missouri likes future Interstates it has no money for. 57 gets added to 49 and 72.
Also will Arkansas ask Illinois to change the control city to Little Rock from Memphis?
Be warned though if there is a fight with Memphis ,Illinois could just change it to
" Southern States"

I-72 isn't going to happen. I-57 only requires 12 miles of new construction, the rest is simply converting existing high quality expressway segments to freeway. Not really as big of a deal as the amount of work Arkansas needs to bring it up to the state line (as well as finishing I-49).

[sparker]

Missouri likes future Interstates it has no money for. 57 gets added to 49 and 72.
Also will Arkansas ask Illinois to change the control city to Little Rock from Memphis?
Be warned though if there is a fight with Memphis ,Illinois could just change it to
" Southern States"

......or "other Southern cities". 

[Bobby5280]

I think Sikeston should have always been the control city for Southbound I-57 signs in Illinois. The Memphis designation makes no sense. Even if/when I-57 is completed Sikeston should still be the control city for those signs in Illinois. Changing the signs from Memphis to Little Rock won't be any better of a solution.

[mvak36]

I think Sikeston should have always been the control city for Southbound I-57 signs in Illinois. The Memphis designation makes no sense. Even if/when I-57 is completed Sikeston should still be the control city for those signs in Illinois. Changing the signs from Memphis to Little Rock won't be any better of a solution.

I guess I don't really have a problem with the Memphis as the control city. I think that once it's completed, MO might do something like Poplar Bluff/Little Rock on their part of I-57. Not sure what IL will do. I wouldn't blame them if they just kept it as Memphis.

FWIW, my personal preference is to have bigger cities as primary control cities and smaller cities like Sikeston be secondary control cities.

[Revive 755]

I think Sikeston should have always been the control city for Southbound I-57 signs in Illinois. The Memphis designation makes no sense. Even if/when I-57 is completed Sikeston should still be the control city for those signs in Illinois. Changing the signs from Memphis to Little Rock won't be any better of a solution.

I guess I don't really have a problem with the Memphis as the control city. I think that once it's completed, MO might do something like Poplar Bluff/Little Rock on their part of I-57. Not sure what IL will do. I wouldn't blame them if they just kept it as Memphis.

Maybe they'll surprise everyone and change it from Memphis to Nashville? 

Sikeston is too small (around 16,000) to be a control city all the way up in Chicagoland.  Definitely smaller than Champaign, and about the same size as Marion and Mount Vernon.

[3467]

Sorry I was doing a little control city humor . For those in Mid South that have not seen our endless discussions of Chicago control suburbs. IDOT stopped using suburban names because the ones not mentioned get upset.

I had this vision of a fight between Little Rock Memphis and heck maybe Dallas causing IDOT to go with

Southern Cities

[CoreySamson]

I think that the control cities should be either major cities, or smaller cities where the route intersects other major routes. Also, who says you can't put more than one or two control cities on a BGS? Here's how I would do it from Chicago southbound:

Chicago: Champaign, Little Rock, and STL Bypass
Champaign: Effingham, Little Rock
Effingham: Mount Vernon, Little Rock
Mount Vernon: Sikeston, Little Rock, Memphis
Sikeston: Jonesboro (opt.) Little Rock

[ilpt4u]

I think that the control cities should be either major cities, or smaller cities where the route intersects other major routes. Also, who says you can't put more than one or two control cities on a BGS? Here's how I would do it from Chicago southbound:

Chicago: Champaign, Little Rock, and STL Bypass
Champaign: Effingham, Little Rock
Effingham: Mount Vernon, Little Rock
Mount Vernon: Sikeston, Little Rock, Memphis
Sikeston: Jonesboro (opt.) Little Rock

Once again, Marion (IL) gets skipped. I-57 and I-24 I guess ain't major enough

IDOT D1 isn't signing "STL Bypass"  - they would sooner sign I-57 South as "Arkansas"  than "STL Bypass"  - and "Arkansas"  would cover both Little Rock AND STL Bypass. Why not add a 4th state to the existing "Iowa"  "Wisconsin"  and "Indiana"  controls?

[3467]

255 is signed Memphis too. And Alton.It's not a really congested St Louis Bypass.

I was think control states too. The Memphis sign is old dates from the Des Moines Toledo days in 80 . I think the only cities left are STL Milwaukee and Rockford.

I think Texas should be the state . AR is same pop as Chicago so go grand This would be the road to take for Dallas and Houston with 69.

[jbnv]

"Memphis" would still be appropriate. I briefly thought "Missouri" would make the most sense but then I remembered that St. Louis is also in Missouri. Memphis *is* the next major city served by I-57. Having an easier way to get to Little Rock doesn't change that.

[ilpt4u]

"Memphis" would still be appropriate. I briefly thought "Missouri" would make the most sense but then I remembered that St. Louis is also in Missouri. Memphis *is* the next major city served by I-57. Having an easier way to get to Little Rock doesn't change that.

Except for the minor fact that I-57 has never gone to Memphis, and when the extension is completed and signed, it will still never go to Memphis. Since I-57 never reaches Memphis, and needs another interstate (or US route, if you prefer) to get there, one could argue it would make more sense to sign Nashville for I-57 over Memphis today, as the trip to Nashville via I-57 SB/I-24 EB is shorter than to Memphis via I-57 SB/I-55 SB

AFA IDOT signing Missouri...Growing up in Will County, it struck me as odd then and still strikes me as odd to this day, that the controls at I-55 and I-80 are:
55: Chicago, St Louis
80: Iowa, Indiana

For consistency sake, 55 SB should be changed to "Missouri."  For most of MO, I-55 is your best bet from the Chicago area (in spite of IL 110/CKC). If you are headed to the Bootheel...well you already know to use I-57

So yeah, IDOT D1: Double-Down on State Controls! Change I-55 SB to Missouri and, when the extension is completed, I-57 SB to Arkansas

[Road Hog]

Sorry I was doing a little control city humor . For those in Mid South that have not seen our endless discussions of Chicago control suburbs. IDOT stopped using suburban names because the ones not mentioned get upset.

I had this vision of a fight between Little Rock Memphis and heck maybe Dallas causing IDOT to go with

Southern Cities

Do it like English motorways and just sign it "The South."

[ilpt4u]

Sorry I was doing a little control city humor . For those in Mid South that have not seen our endless discussions of Chicago control suburbs. IDOT stopped using suburban names because the ones not mentioned get upset.

I had this vision of a fight between Little Rock Memphis and heck maybe Dallas causing IDOT to go with

Southern Cities

Do it like English motorways and just sign it "The South."

I would actually be quite OK with that for I-57 leaving Chicagoland

[Bobby5280]

Sikeston is too small (around 16,000) to be a control city all the way up in Chicagoland.

Sikeston is at the current terminus of I-57, and is the turning point to get on I-55 to actually drive down to Memphis. That makes Sikeston 100% valid as a control city. Once I-57 is completed to the Little Rock area that will make Memphis really silly as a control city for I-57 signs in Illinois. Sikeston will really be the only thing that makes sense as a control city then. Once I-57 is extended then Poplar Bluff will work as the control city for I-57 going past the I-55/I-57 interchange. Maybe Little Rock can be added too. But Memphis is going to have to go. Memphis should only appear on I-57 as a control city for entering I-55 Southbound.

[abqtraveler]

Sikeston is too small (around 16,000) to be a control city all the way up in Chicagoland.

Sikeston is at the current terminus of I-57, and is the turning point to get on I-55 to actually drive down to Memphis. That makes Sikeston 100% valid as a control city. Once I-57 is completed to the Little Rock area that will make Memphis really silly as a control city for I-57 signs in Illinois. Sikeston will really be the only thing that makes sense as a control city then. Once I-57 is extended then Poplar Bluff will work as the control city for I-57 going past the I-55/I-57 interchange. Maybe Little Rock can be added too. But Memphis is going to have to go. Memphis should only appear on I-57 as a control city for entering I-55 Southbound.

I would think that Memphis would still be a valid control city for I-57 in Illinois, given that it does serve as an alternative route for traffic wanting to bypass St. Louis when traveling between Memphis and Chicago. I would add Little Rock as a control city to signage in Illinois, but I wouldn't necessarily delete Memphis.

[edwaleni]

Sikeston is too small (around 16,000) to be a control city all the way up in Chicagoland.

Sikeston is at the current terminus of I-57, and is the turning point to get on I-55 to actually drive down to Memphis. That makes Sikeston 100% valid as a control city. Once I-57 is completed to the Little Rock area that will make Memphis really silly as a control city for I-57 signs in Illinois. Sikeston will really be the only thing that makes sense as a control city then. Once I-57 is extended then Poplar Bluff will work as the control city for I-57 going past the I-55/I-57 interchange. Maybe Little Rock can be added too. But Memphis is going to have to go. Memphis should only appear on I-57 as a control city for entering I-55 Southbound.

I would think that Memphis would still be a valid control city for I-57 in Illinois, given that it does serve as an alternative route for traffic wanting to bypass St. Louis when traveling between Memphis and Chicago. I would add Little Rock as a control city to signage in Illinois, but I wouldn't necessarily delete Memphis.

Agreed. Just make it Memphis and Little Rock.

[sparker]

Sikeston is too small (around 16,000) to be a control city all the way up in Chicagoland.

Sikeston is at the current terminus of I-57, and is the turning point to get on I-55 to actually drive down to Memphis. That makes Sikeston 100% valid as a control city. Once I-57 is completed to the Little Rock area that will make Memphis really silly as a control city for I-57 signs in Illinois. Sikeston will really be the only thing that makes sense as a control city then. Once I-57 is extended then Poplar Bluff will work as the control city for I-57 going past the I-55/I-57 interchange. Maybe Little Rock can be added too. But Memphis is going to have to go. Memphis should only appear on I-57 as a control city for entering I-55 Southbound.

I would think that Memphis would still be a valid control city for I-57 in Illinois, given that it does serve as an alternative route for traffic wanting to bypass St. Louis when traveling between Memphis and Chicago. I would add Little Rock as a control city to signage in Illinois, but I wouldn't necessarily delete Memphis.

Agreed. Just make it Memphis and Little Rock.

And one more concurrence with the above idea.  The original I-57 referencing Memphis has been around long enough that it's probably a bit iconic with both commercial and "civilian" drivers; eliminating it now would simply cause confusion.  Just add Little Rock as a secondary city -- particularly at and south of the I-24 interchange -- once the gap is filled.