Missouri

[afguy]

According to this article MODOT prefers flyover ramps for the I-70/U.S. 63 Interchange in Columbia.

The project would involve tri-level flyover ramps from northbound 63 onto westbound 70 and from eastbound 70 onto southbound 63, completely avoiding the current connector. The project has funding in the 2023-27 Statewide Transportation Improvement Plan and is part of the Improve I-70 initiative.

MoDOT presented three construction alternatives for the connector project in July.

The department shared its preferred alternative Wednesday afternoon during an open house at the Activity and Recreation Center after receiving input from community members in addition to feedback from businesses and government leaders.

https://news.yahoo.com/modot-prefers-flyover-ramps-interstate-111535605.html

[Stephane Dumas]

According to this article MODOT prefers flyover ramps for the I-70/U.S. 63 Interchange in Columbia.

The project would involve tri-level flyover ramps from northbound 63 onto westbound 70 and from eastbound 70 onto southbound 63, completely avoiding the current connector. The project has funding in the 2023-27 Statewide Transportation Improvement Plan and is part of the Improve I-70 initiative.

MoDOT presented three construction alternatives for the connector project in July.

The department shared its preferred alternative Wednesday afternoon during an open house at the Activity and Recreation Center after receiving input from community members in addition to feedback from businesses and government leaders.

https://news.yahoo.com/modot-prefers-flyover-ramps-interstate-111535605.html

There's another article who confirmed Alternative A.
https://www.komu.com/news/midmissourinews/modot-presents-alternatives-for-i-70-highway-63-connector/article_ce8166a0-5ae6-11ed-a402-f320dba15961.html
And for those who are curious to see how Alternatives B and C look it's on the following document on page 23.
https://www.modot.org/sites/default/files/documents/2022.11.02_J5S3411_PIM_2_Presentation_All_Final.pdf

[MikieTimT]

MODOT is going to have a public meeting today to "discuss the next phase of Future I-57". There's no funding for this phase.

Meeting Handout: https://www.modot.org/sites/default/files/documents/US%2067%20Future%20I57%20Handout_Oct%202022%20Public%20Meeting.pdf

Well, it's good they're still ironing out the plan for the phase, even if it isn't yet funded.  Makes it more likely to get funded, eventually.

I do like the plan for the interchange except for the roundabout at the end of the SB offramp. I don't have anything against roundabouts; just think it's an unnecessary expense when a simple T-intersection would work as well. This will be nice whenever it happens. I don't know what the current traffic is like, but I imagine it's increasing as US 67 has been four lanes from Little Rock to Pocahontas for about five years now.

It's time for Missouri to start figuring out some funding for their part of I-57 south of Neelyville since Arkansas now has completed the DEIS with preferred alignments selected and one alternative eliminated from contention.  Things are now moving south of the border, and although not all is funded in Arkansas, some funds for final studies and ROW acquisition are dedicated as of this writing.  Not to say we don't have a repeat of the Bella Vista Bypass where the states flip-flopped with available funds for the project with NWARPC pulling strings to help get Missouri the final grant to complete I-49's gap.  There isn't a comparable planning commission on either side of the border to help pull together funds for this one.

https://future57.transportationplanroom.com/

[mvak36]

They've posted an updated High-Priority Unfunded Needs list. They are also going to have public meetings like last year.

From the document:

Tier one includes $528 million and includes project needs we could accomplish in the time of the current five-year STIP as federal
and state funding levels increase. These projects have more refined estimates. Tier two is worth $2 billion and includes project needs beyond the
current STIP timeframe with broader estimates. Tier three includes $2.2 billion of project needs also beyond the current STIP timeframe with broader
estimates. In addition, DOT staff worked with the planning partners to identify $1 billion in multimodal needs. There is also an additional nearly $3
billion in identified statewide unfunded needs, primarily focused on improving Interstate 70.

Doing a quick scan, Tier 2 has 110 million for "SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS ACROSS BRUCE R. WATKINS" and also 3 projects in the Joplin area to make MO249/MO171 into an interstate highway.

[Revive 755]

They've posted an updated High-Priority Unfunded Needs list. They are also going to have public meetings like last year.

Page 23 lists a 'new roadway from I-44 to MO 5 at Lebanon' for around $30 million.  Hopefully this is a partial bypass for MO 5.

Page 23 also lists interchange and outer road improvements for US 67 from Route CC to the St. Francis County line for $65 million - possible a partial freeway conversion?

Page 27 suggests I-55 may get at least a partial new interchange at Route U around New Madrid.

Page 31 lists a new interchange for I-229 at Cook Road.

Page 35 mentions a replacement of the PSB and possibly twinning the I-70 Mississippi Bridge, but with partial in parenthesis.

[MikieTimT]

They've posted an updated High-Priority Unfunded Needs list. They are also going to have public meetings like last year.

From the document:

Tier one includes $528 million and includes project needs we could accomplish in the time of the current five-year STIP as federal
and state funding levels increase. These projects have more refined estimates. Tier two is worth $2 billion and includes project needs beyond the
current STIP timeframe with broader estimates. Tier three includes $2.2 billion of project needs also beyond the current STIP timeframe with broader
estimates. In addition, DOT staff worked with the planning partners to identify $1 billion in multimodal needs. There is also an additional nearly $3
billion in identified statewide unfunded needs, primarily focused on improving Interstate 70.

Doing a quick scan, Tier 2 has 110 million for "SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS ACROSS BRUCE R. WATKINS" and also 3 projects in the Joplin area to make MO249/MO171 into an interstate highway.

Hopefully, the lane extensions they are talking about for MO-171/249 are related to redoing the interchange at Exit 53 on I-49 with a flyover for northbound traffic so that there isn't a left-turn intersection to get onto I-49.  Can't really call it an interstate with the current interchange there, although the rest are pretty much there along that route.  Signage and guardrails are nice, but that interchange is the big ticket item preventing its promotion.

[skluth]

They've posted an updated High-Priority Unfunded Needs list. They are also going to have public meetings like last year.

Page 23 lists a 'new roadway from I-44 to MO 5 at Lebanon' for around $30 million.  Hopefully this is a partial bypass for MO 5.

That would be nice. They wouldn't even need a new interchange; just build it from the Route F exit west to MO 5.

Page 23 also lists interchange and outer road improvements for US 67 from Route CC to the St. Francis County line for $65 million - possible a partial freeway conversion?

US 67 is already an expressway with interchanges at MO 110 and Valles Mines. Ideally, it would be building an interchange at CC (I think I hit that light on red almost every time I had to visit my ex's family), but it could be Victoria Road (which needs at least a light) for all the commuters turning left to NB US 67. MODOT really needs to remove all the stoplights and busy crossings on US 67 down to Fredericktown now that it's four lanes to Poplar Bluff. In any case, it's unfunded so we may never know.

Page 27 suggests I-55 may get at least a partial new interchange at Route U around New Madrid.

Page 31 lists a new interchange for I-229 at Cook Road.

That's surprising considering the effort to remove I-229 from Downtown St Joseph and that there is almost no development there. St Jo's population is slowly shrinking so I wouldn't expect an explosion of new development anytime soon. This looks more like some politico's pet pork project.

Page 35 mentions a replacement of the PSB and possibly twinning the I-70 Mississippi Bridge, but with partial in parenthesis.

The PSB is getting up there in age. I don't know what its expected life is given the earthquake retrofits late last century and if they did any extra improvements when they added the fifth lane EB. Don't see the need for a second Stan Span, but I haven't lived or been back to St Louis for four years now. I think I'd prefer a dedicated exit ramp from the "reversible" lanes EB to the Musial Bridge. I'm also curious about what small improvement is unfunded at I-64/MO 141 (p 24). The improvements I'd want, a couple flyover ramps, cost far more than $6.5M.

[Route66Fan]

Doing a quick scan, Tier 2 has 110 million for "SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS ACROSS BRUCE R. WATKINS" and also 3 projects in the Joplin area to make MO249/MO171 into an interstate highway.

I wonder what the safety improvements will be?

[Sani]

Doing a quick scan, Tier 2 has 110 million for "SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS ACROSS BRUCE R. WATKINS" and also 3 projects in the Joplin area to make MO249/MO171 into an interstate highway.

I wonder what the safety improvements will be?

Maybe they'll at least add traffic cameras along the corridor. There's a conspicuous gap on the map of KC Scout traffic cams along Bruce R. Watkins. Wonder if MoDOT left them out of the ITS project out of pique or something.

[afguy]

Lawmaker wants to use Missouri surplus to widen I-70

"The option to do nothing on I-70 is not there,"  Kevin Keith, then-director of MODOT, said in January 2012. "If we do nothing, in 10 to 15 years, it will become a gravel parking lot."

Funding for the biggest project of all — widening the interstate to three or four lanes in each direction — has eluded planners. But with the state enjoying an unprecedented surplus in excess of $6 billion, now is the time to make the wish for money a reality, said state Sen. Bill Eigel, R-Weldon Spring.

As one of his first bills filed in advance of the legislative session that begins Jan. 4, Eigel is proposing lawmakers dedicate a portion of the surplus to widen the highway to four lanes from St. Louis to Kansas City.

"I don't think it is necessarily a great thing for cash to be sitting in the government's bank account,"  Eigel said. "We need to invest those funds in actual big infrastructure projects like I-70."

Under his proposal, any general revenue funds in excess of a $4 billion cash balance would be transferred to the project fund. And from ongoing revenue, Eigel would dedicate about 2% annually — nearly $300 million this year — for 10 years.

That could generate up to $9 billion for the project, he said.

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/government-politics-issues/2022-12-03/lawmaker-wants-to-use-missouri-surplus-to-widen-i-70

[kphoger]

Was that really worth 24pt font?

[skluth]

Missouri doesn't need a surplus to start this. Just put some money in the budget to start widening I-70 from each end of the state. How much is built will be directly related to how much is budgeted. Have one crew start in Blue Springs and one in Wentzville. They work towards each other like the builders of the Transcontinental Railroad. At 10 miles per year at each end, the highway will be six lanes in about a decade. Drivers will see the benefit as I-70 is less clogged by trucks passing other trucks at suboptimal speed. The main problem will be widening it to six lanes through Columbia.

[kphoger]

Missouri doesn't need a surplus to start this. Just put some money in the budget ...

Having a wife from Missouri, this made me laugh.  Everyone laments that the state doesn't have enough money to maintain the highways they already have, let alone start new improvement projects.

[skluth]

Missouri doesn't need a surplus to start this. Just put some money in the budget ...

Having a wife from Missouri, this made me laugh.  Everyone laments that the state doesn't have enough money to maintain the highways they already have, let alone start new improvement projects.

I lived there for 28 years until 2018. I know all too well the cheapness of Missouri legislators going back to the Hancock Amendment.

[J N Winkler]

"The option to do nothing on I-70 is not there,"  Kevin Keith, then-director of MODOT, said in January 2012. "If we do nothing, in 10 to 15 years, it will become a gravel parking lot."

It's January 2023 next month, which leaves four years for I-70 to become a gravel parking lot.

[afguy]

I actually like this approach to widening I-70, target the most congested areas first.

Missouri governor wants to put I-70 widening on fast track

In a 50-minute address to lawmakers Wednesday, Parson called on the GOP-controlled House and Senate to approve $859 million to add lanes on the highway from Wentzville to Warrenton in the St. Louis region, while also widening parts of the thoroughfare in Columbia and suburban Kansas City."This is a major pinch point,"  said Missouri Department of Transportation Director Patrick McKenna.

A push to widen the east-west artery has been gaining steam for years as heavy truck and car traffic have frustrated motorists and affected the transport of goods.

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/missouri-governor-wants-to-put-i-70-widening-on-fast-track/article_232752c9-a356-5d81-a447-89aa5acd5771.html

[skluth]

I actually like this approach to widening I-70, target the most congested areas first.

Missouri governor wants to put I-70 widening on fast track

In a 50-minute address to lawmakers Wednesday, Parson called on the GOP-controlled House and Senate to approve $859 million to add lanes on the highway from Wentzville to Warrenton in the St. Louis region, while also widening parts of the thoroughfare in Columbia and suburban Kansas City."This is a major pinch point,"  said Missouri Department of Transportation Director Patrick McKenna.

A push to widen the east-west artery has been gaining steam for years as heavy truck and car traffic have frustrated motorists and affected the transport of goods.

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/missouri-governor-wants-to-put-i-70-widening-on-fast-track/article_232752c9-a356-5d81-a447-89aa5acd5771.html

This is excellent. I agree it needs to be done. It's been talked about since when I originally moved to Missouri and that was 1987. Not sure how they plan to widen it through Columbia since there are some really tight fits there. Personally, I'd just start four design-build projects starting east of KC, west of Wentzville, and on either side of Columbia and just keep adding more six lane sections to I-70 along the entire corridor until it's finished. Widening it through Columbia would be its own project. It may take twenty years or more to finish a six-lane I-70, but the longer Missouri waits the more expensive and difficult it becomes.

I-70 is nearing the end of its life expectancy anyway with some of the original parts dating back to the 1950s. It's going to be a complete rebuild in so many segments there is no time better to rebuild and improve it than now.

[mvak36]

Report from the local station here in KC about the potential I-70 widening: https://www.kmbc.com/article/governor-parsons-proposed-i-70-expansion/42579837. It talked about the areas that would get the funding if the legislature agrees to the governor's request.

AREAS IMPACTED

    The 19 miles between Blue Springs and Odessa would be one of the three expansion areas.
    The 13 miles from Midway to Route Z around Columbia, which MoDOT says sees roughly 50,000 drivers daily.
    The 20 miles between Warrenton and Wentzville that MoDOT says has almost 82,000 on it a day.

As much as some drivers want it, none of this is green-lighted yet. The Missouri legislature still has to agree to it, and they could be the ones who pump the brakes.

The article also posted the link to a MODOT Infographic which shows the impacted areas mentioned in the article, projects already awarded or in planning, and unfunded sections.

Another pdf from the Improve I-70 site. Same info as the previous pdf but it only lists the potential projects if the legislature passes the funding.

[Revive 755]

The article also posted the link to a MODOT Infographic which shows the impacted areas mentioned in the article, projects already awarded or in planning, and unfunded sections.

Wonder what the planned project is for I-70 at US 67 for $46 million?

[mvak36]

The article also posted the link to a MODOT Infographic which shows the impacted areas mentioned in the article, projects already awarded or in planning, and unfunded sections.

Wonder what the planned project is for I-70 at US 67 for $46 million?

The only thing I was able to find was a project listed in the STIP which is for corridor improvements on I-70 from the Missouri River to US67. I don't know what those improvements would be and the cost listed in the STIP is just below 59 million, which is more than what was shown in that infographic.

[afguy]

MoDOT has selected a design-build contractor to replace the Chester Bridge. It looks like another cable-stayed bridge will be built across the Missisippi River.
MoDOT selects team to replace Chester Bridge

The bridge was originally constructed in 1942. It spans across the Mississippi River, connecting the cities of Perryville, Missouri, and Chester, Illinois, via Route 51. According to MoDOT, around 7,000 vehicles use the bridge daily.

The bridge is safe for travel, but the aging structure is considered in poor condition, according to MoDOT. The commission approved an amendment on Sept. 9, 2021, to fund the Chester Bridge Replacement Project.

"This major river bridge is vital to agricultural traffic, area industries and travelers,"  said Missouri Department of Transportation Project Director Brian Okenfuss. "While the current bridge is safe, it is in poor condition. The new Chester Bridge will reduce the number of flood-related closures and better serve today's traffic."

The Ames Team will construct the bridge upstream from the existing structure, making it twice as wide. No long-term lane closures are anticipated by MoDOT and traffic will continue as construction is completed.

https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/local/modot-team-replace-chester-bridge/63-8c6c1501-ebc4-4d0d-9e6a-f1be0699ffca

[SkyPesos]

They're able to do a fancier bridge for some rural 2-lane across the Mississippi but not for I-270?

[mvak36]

Cross-posted from the MODOT Contract Lettings thread:

All the Focus on Bridges projects have been let: https://www.newstribune.com/news/2023/mar/09/modot-awards-final-focus-on-bridges-contracts/

[afguy]

Looks like lawmakers are trying to scale back some of the improvements that Gov. Parsons wants for I-70. While I understand lawmakers that that don't live near the I-70 corridor want MoDOT to focus on their needs as well, the fact remains that I-70 is Missouri's main street and that it connects the state's two largest metro areas and that 60% of the state's population lives within 30 miles of the corridor. So, widening it is a must. Also, I-44 will be the next corridor MoDOT will be focusing on as far as widening statewide.

Lawmakers chip away at Missouri governor's plan for I-70 improvements

Questioning of McKenna began in the committee's morning session and resumed after the House, in floor action, voted 101-45 in favor of a state constitutional amendment that would give lawmakers control of the state road fund. Currently, money from fuel taxes, license fees and vehicle sales taxes to maintain highways"stand appropriated without legislative action."  

The proposed constitutional amendment now goes to the Senate where, if approved, it would be put on a statewide ballot.

During the hearing, Rep. Scott Cupps, R-Shell Knob, peppered McKenna with questions about how I-70 was chosen over other projects, such as I-44.

"Is this something that stems from the fact that I-70 does go through what I have coined as being the bureaucrat bubble?"  Cupps asked.

Cupps, who drives a truck, said he doesn't believe the congestion on I-70 outside urban "pinch points"  is as bad as it is on I-44.

https://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/news/2023/03/08/missouri-1-70-improvement-plan.html

[Revive 755]

They're able to do a fancier bridge for some rural 2-lane across the Mississippi but not for I-270?

The Chain of Rocks Main Channel Bridge isn't required to accommodate barge traffic.



MoDOT is going to close more rest areas for converson to truck parking:  The one on SB I-29 between St. Joseph and KC, and the rest areas on I-35 between KC and Cameron.