News:

The AARoads Wiki is live! Come check it out!

Main Menu

I-57 Alignment Question

Started by TheArkansasRoadgeek, April 12, 2018, 03:51:38 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

TheArkansasRoadgeek

So, we all know that US 67 will be improved to Interstate Standards, but looking at Google Maps, it looks as if US 62 could be used near Pocahontas for continuation of the alignment right on into Missouri.

Not that this is the case... I just wanted to check to see what 67 looked like near the AR-MO line.

Thoughts?
Well, that's just like your opinion man...


sparker

Walnut Ridge-Poplar Bluff is still, for the most part, still up in the air as regards an actual alignment; Pocahontas, AFAIK, hasn't weighed in yet as to whether they'd prefer a routing that more or less directly served their town.  The alternate involves AR 34 and AR 90 and follows the UP main line across the Black River floodplain south of Corning (its narrowest point).  That needs to be determined before any state line crossing point is established; and the AR and MO DOT's need to coordinate their separate efforts.  None of this is likely to be finalized this decade; considering MO's dire straits as of late, if anything is done by 2030 it'll be a miracle. 

US71

Quote from: sparker on April 12, 2018, 07:18:52 PM
Walnut Ridge-Poplar Bluff is still, for the most part, still up in the air as regards an actual alignment; Pocahontas, AFAIK, hasn't weighed in yet as to whether they'd prefer a routing that more or less directly served their town.  The alternate involves AR 34 and AR 90 and follows the UP main line across the Black River floodplain south of Corning (its narrowest point).  That needs to be determined before any state line crossing point is established; and the AR and MO DOT's need to coordinate their separate efforts.  None of this is likely to be finalized this decade; considering MO's dire straits as of late, if anything is done by 2030 it'll be a miracle. 

It would seem to me that Walnut Ridge-Corning-Poplar Bluff might make the most sense. But given ARDOT's finances, it will be a long time before they even come up with a list of alternatives.
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

I-39

When was the last time they even discussed any freeway alignment north of Walnut Ridge? It has to have been at least a few years.

US71

Quote from: I-39 on April 12, 2018, 09:25:57 PM
When was the last time they even discussed any freeway alignment north of Walnut Ridge? It has to have been at least a few years.

It's been a while...not sure now long.
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

bugo

THIS is why it should have been called I-30. It might not be finished to Sikeston for many decades now. It connects to I-30 right now and has for years. It was short-sightedness to name it I-57 which now has a gap in it than to name it I-30 which would not have a gap.

wdcrft63

Quote from: I-39 on April 12, 2018, 09:25:57 PM
When was the last time they even discussed any freeway alignment north of Walnut Ridge? It has to have been at least a few years.
What's needed is for AR and MO to start a joint feasibility study to identify possible corridors. This is not a particularly expensive thing to do and it doesn't bind either state.

sparker

Quote from: wdcrft63 on April 15, 2018, 06:30:46 PM
Quote from: I-39 on April 12, 2018, 09:25:57 PM
When was the last time they even discussed any freeway alignment north of Walnut Ridge? It has to have been at least a few years.
What's needed is for AR and MO to start a joint feasibility study to identify possible corridors. This is not a particularly expensive thing to do and it doesn't bind either state.

IIRC, some preliminary corridor identification has already been done -- with the two principal suggested alternative corridors being the ones cited earlier.  Nevertheless, both inaction by MODOT re a coordinated effort as well as potential local political issues regarding the Pocahontas area have delayed any further activities toward narrowing down a route selection.  And AR's already got a lot on its plate right now -- so don't expect much in the way of prompt action on this particular project.   

US71

Quote from: bugo on April 15, 2018, 05:22:20 PM
THIS is why it should have been called I-30. It might not be finished to Sikeston for many decades now. It connects to I-30 right now and has for years. It was short-sightedness to name it I-57 which now has a gap in it than to name it I-30 which would not have a gap.

Complain to John Boozman.
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

sparker

I-30 is excoriated enough as it is (at least within much of the roadgeek arena) for being a too-short waste of a designation ending in zero.  Giving it an ignominious terminus outside of a small town in NE Arkansas would be adding insult to injury.   

bugo

Quote from: sparker on April 15, 2018, 08:44:32 PM
I-30 is excoriated enough as it is (at least within much of the roadgeek arena) for being a too-short waste of a designation ending in zero.  Giving it an ignominious terminus outside of a small town in NE Arkansas would be adding insult to injury.   

An interstate with a gap that isn't likely to be filled for decades if ever is better?

US71

Quote from: bugo on April 15, 2018, 09:03:14 PM
Quote from: sparker on April 15, 2018, 08:44:32 PM
I-30 is excoriated enough as it is (at least within much of the roadgeek arena) for being a too-short waste of a designation ending in zero.  Giving it an ignominious terminus outside of a small town in NE Arkansas would be adding insult to injury.   

An interstate with a gap that isn't likely to be filled for decades if ever is better?

The question regarding numbering is a moot point. Agree or disagree with it, nothing can really be done to change it.
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

bugo

Sure it can. Lots of highways have been renumbered.

sparker

Quote from: US71 on April 15, 2018, 10:15:00 PM
Quote from: bugo on April 15, 2018, 09:03:14 PM
Quote from: sparker on April 15, 2018, 08:44:32 PM
I-30 is excoriated enough as it is (at least within much of the roadgeek arena) for being a too-short waste of a designation ending in zero.  Giving it an ignominious terminus outside of a small town in NE Arkansas would be adding insult to injury.   

An interstate with a gap that isn't likely to be filled for decades if ever is better?

The question regarding numbering is a moot point. Agree or disagree with it, nothing can really be done to change it.

I-30 would just be a stub-end; two signed separate segments of I-57 strongly make the point that there is a gap that needs filling.  Anything that calls attention to this is welcome! 

bugo

Missouri isn't going to build this road any faster just because there is a "gap" in it. It doesn't work that way.

froggie

Quote from: bugo on April 15, 2018, 09:03:14 PM
Quote from: sparker on April 15, 2018, 08:44:32 PM
I-30 is excoriated enough as it is (at least within much of the roadgeek arena) for being a too-short waste of a designation ending in zero.  Giving it an ignominious terminus outside of a small town in NE Arkansas would be adding insult to injury.   

An interstate with a gap that isn't likely to be filled for decades if ever is better?

Wouldn't be the first time there were duplicate sections of the same route number...

TheArkansasRoadgeek

So, with the resigning debate reappearing, I ask: could US 67 be an invisible concurrency? Such as US 65 and I-40/I-30.
Well, that's just like your opinion man...

US71

#17
Quote from: bugo on April 16, 2018, 12:53:08 AM
Sure it can. Lots of highways have been renumbered.

Then talk to John Boozman.
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

longhorn

Why not connect Walnut Ridge To I-55 using 412? Save some money and dual sign I-55 and 57 into Missouri.

When I was a kid we use to take 63 from Ft. Leanard Wood going to Florida. My how that area has grown.

Bobby5280

IMHO, it would really suck for I-30 to have a dead freeway end in what would look like a random spot in NE Arkansas. To me that would stick out much worse on a map than a gap between two segments of the same named Interstate route.

A major Interstate route number ending in a five or zero should terminate into another similar major Interstate route or end at a major boundary such as an ocean or a border. I-30 currently begins/ends at I-20 and I-40. There's no need to change that. I don't have so much of a problem with I-30 running such a short length for a major Interstate route since it connects to I-40 on the East end and the nation's 4th largest metro area on the West end. I-45 is a shorter major route, but it connects the 4th and 5th largest metro areas in the country.

While there is currently political hurdles getting in the way of filling the gap approximately 115 miles long between Walnut Ridge, Poplar Bluff and Sikeston that may not be a permanent situation. Naming US-67 up to Walnut Ridge as I-57 would at least clearly illustrate the intention to link that highway to the I-57 route beginning in Sikeston at some point in the future.

There are currently other gaps in the Interstate system. I-49 has multiple gaps, some of which will take decades to fill. The same goes for I-69, I-73 and I-74. I-11 is sure to fall into the same camp. In the first 20 or so years of the Interstate highway system many routes had substantial gaps all over the place. Any highway system is going to be a continual work in progress.

wdcrft63

Quote from: bugo on April 16, 2018, 01:28:10 AM
Missouri isn't going to build this road any faster just because there is a "gap" in it. It doesn't work that way.
Probably not in the shorter term, but gaps create public pressure to fill them.

vdeane

So where's the pressure for West Virginia and Ohio to build I-74?  There doesn't seem to be much pressure for PA to finish I-99 or NY to finish I-86, either.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

Bobby5280

I might perhaps be a little optimistic, but I think if self driving car technology improves enough to become widely available and affordable in new cars then it will create a new revolution of highway travel. People will get out on the roads a lot more, particularly on longer distance road trips if they can kick back and let the car do the driving. That would create more demand for good quality highways. And limited access freeways would have fewer obstacles for self driving cars to negotiate.

I'd love to be able to throw my stuff in a car after work Friday and drive 600 miles to see family in Colorado without having to worry about getting there really late at night. If I get tired I would have the option to let the car take over the driving chores. Or I could let the car drive the whole way while I watched movies, did work, etc. It would be awesome. I could actually make the return trip later, even on a Sunday evening and still be able to get to work Monday morning and still be reasonably well rested.

Self driving cars will be a disruptive technology. They will affect business and leisure in ways few have yet imagined. I think self driving cars will be disruptive to the politics currently screwing up the nation's ability to build any big things. Highway corridors that currently seem impossible to finish right now (such as I-73 & I-74 or a billion dollar bridge over the Mississippi for I-69) might become more feasible a decade from now.

TheArkansasRoadgeek

Quote from: Bobby5280 on April 16, 2018, 10:27:34 PM
I might perhaps be a little optimistic, but I think if self driving car technology improves enough to become widely available and affordable in new cars then it will create a new revolution of highway travel. People will get out on the roads a lot more, particularly on longer distance road trips if they can kick back and let the car do the driving. That would create more demand for good quality highways. And limited access freeways would have fewer obstacles for self driving cars to negotiate.

I'd love to be able to throw my stuff in a car after work Friday and drive 600 miles to see family in Colorado without having to worry about getting there really late at night. If I get tired I would have the option to let the car take over the driving chores. Or I could let the car drive the whole way while I watched movies, did work, etc. It would be awesome. I could actually make the return trip later, even on a Sunday evening and still be able to get to work Monday morning and still be reasonably well rested.

Self driving cars will be a disruptive technology. They will affect business and leisure in ways few have yet imagined. I think self driving cars will be disruptive to the politics currently screwing up the nation's ability to build any big things. Highway corridors that currently seem impossible to finish right now (such as I-73 & I-74 or a billion dollar bridge over the Mississippi for I-69) might become more feasible a decade from now.
:wow: That's quite the optimism there!
Well, that's just like your opinion man...

Road Hog

The 2 main reasons I am and always have been a 57'er:

1) The freeway in Arkansas is more north-south than east-west.

2) If I had a business interest (and at one time I did), I'd rather be astride a route from Dallas to Chicago than a route from Festus to Sherwood.



Opinions expressed here on belong solely to the poster and do not represent or reflect the opinions or beliefs of AARoads, its creators and/or associates.