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Illinois Bridge Volumes

Started by edwaleni, April 28, 2021, 11:37:08 AM

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edwaleni

While perusing the IDOT Highway Statistics document:

https://idot.illinois.gov/transportation-system/Network-Overview/highway-system/illinois-travel-statistics

I was reviewing the stats for bridges that cross state lines and the one datapoint I found interesting was the Poplar Street Bridge.

Before and after the Stan Musial-Veterans Bridge was built.  I was surprised how fast the Poplar Street Bridge recovered and went back to its pre-Musial volumes.

What is funny is the "Cannonball Bridge" a 1 lane former railroad span that the state took over from the City of St Francisville is on the chart.







CtrlAltDel

Quote from: edwaleni on April 28, 2021, 11:37:08 AM
Before and after the Stan Musial-Veterans Bridge was built.  I was surprised how fast the Poplar Street Bridge recovered and went back to its pre-Musial volumes.

It seems like some of the traffic came off of other bridges, in particular the I-270 bridge.
Interstates clinched: 4, 57, 275 (IN-KY-OH), 465 (IN), 640 (TN), 985
State Interstates clinched: I-26 (TN), I-75 (GA), I-75 (KY), I-75 (TN), I-81 (WV), I-95 (NH)

edwaleni

Quote from: CtrlAltDel on April 28, 2021, 05:59:05 PM
Quote from: edwaleni on April 28, 2021, 11:37:08 AM
Before and after the Stan Musial-Veterans Bridge was built.  I was surprised how fast the Poplar Street Bridge recovered and went back to its pre-Musial volumes.

It seems like some of the traffic came off of other bridges, in particular the I-270 bridge.

Good catch. Both the New Chain of Rocks & the MLK declined noticeably when the Poplar Street went back up.

McKinley was flat and the Eads went up. I would like to think that 2019 will a good baseline year because for the first time in a long time, no downtown non-rail bridges were under construction or reconstruction (that I can recall).

The MLK went through a lengthy rehabilitation and it appears the traffic has not recovered.

If i didn't know better I would guess that once the Musial-Veterans went into service and the reconstruction ended around Cahokia and East St Louis the trucks simply came back.

ilpt4u

No numbers for the Cave-in-Rock ferry? Come on, man!

Revive 755

There were a few years after the Stan Musial - Veterans Bridge opened that involved closure and replacement of the I-55 ramps at the west end of the PSB - can't recall which years it was for the particular ramps, but that probably decreased the volume on the PSB as well.

The PSB has a lot more traffic potential than the Stan Musial - Veterans Bridge.  The Musial - Veterans only really serves I-70 and downtown St. Louis given the missing ramps to/from the south.  The PSB meanwhile serves I-55, I-44, US 40, the downtown area, and still provides access to WB I-70.

edwaleni

Someone I know who works in St Louis said "The MLK is only a three lane bridge....2 leaving St Louis and 1 coming in....it backs up every morning and with no shoulders, 1 fender bender kills it for the rest of the morning...to be avoided"

So that explains that.

Also the Eads, which is just south of the MLK is 4 lanes, 2 in each direction and provides the same access to downtown. But you can't get to it without exiting at 3rd Street.

The friend also said "no one exits at 3rd Street and drive the 4-5 blocks through East St Louis at street level to turn left at Broadway, no one"

Well, OK, so that explains the Eads and MLK to some degree I reckon.


skluth

Quote from: edwaleni on April 29, 2021, 12:14:17 AM
Someone I know who works in St Louis said "The MLK is only a three lane bridge....2 leaving St Louis and 1 coming in....it backs up every morning and with no shoulders, 1 fender bender kills it for the rest of the morning...to be avoided"

So that explains that.

Also the Eads, which is just south of the MLK is 4 lanes, 2 in each direction and provides the same access to downtown. But you can't get to it without exiting at 3rd Street.

The friend also said "no one exits at 3rd Street and drive the 4-5 blocks through East St Louis at street level to turn left at Broadway, no one"

Well, OK, so that explains the Eads and MLK to some degree I reckon.

The MLK works best for drivers heading west on I-70 and the Stan Span is a better alternative. All drivers heading west on the MLK have to first turn north onto a frontage road, driving away from downtown. There's no stop for drivers taking the ramp onto the viaduct north of the Depressed Lanes (the local term for the trenched I-44 west of the Arch Grounds) going to I-70. The other option for drivers is to turn left onto Carr which gives you a choice to then continue west on Cole (St Louis is full of streets that magically change names) north of downtown or turning left again into the heart of downtown.

It's a very convoluted routing for drivers heading downtown and very confusing for those unfamiliar with the area. It's best for drivers heading to the Dome, Lumiere Casino, and Laclede's Landing. Drivers heading any further west on the north side of downtown (City Museum, Washington Ave clubs) are now better served taking the Stan Span and exiting onto Tucker.

I've taken the MLK a few times over the years. My coworkers who commuted from Illinois rarely used the bridge because we worked just east of the brewery. IMO, it's the least useful bridge across the Mississippi in the area.



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