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I-229 St. Joseph Study

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Revive 755:
https://www.stjoe229.com/potential-alignments

* Several options would decommission I-229.  Given MoDOT usual insistentance that 'an interstate must end at another interstate' (somehow forgetting about I-72 in Hannibal), the remaining sections of I-229 would probably be downgraded to a state route.

* 2 options cross over into via US 36 and later cross back into Missouri on a new bridge.

* Almost all of the options do not fix the interchange with US 36 and leave it with stoplights.

Bobby5280:
I think chances are very remote for I-229 to be retained as a thru route. That double deck bridge along the river front will certainly be demolished. For a town of 70,000 the cost of replacing the double deck bridge with a new elevated structure to retain the thru Interstate will be a bit much.

The existing Interstate is one big barrier between the downtown and the river front. Removing it won't end the configuration problems for the river front. I think the railroad lines next to the double deck bridge will do just as much to prevent a revitalization of the river front.

Chris:
I found the double-deck bridge of I-229 odd, especially after I learned it was built only in the 1980s. It seems like it was built with a 1950s mindset that downtown areas needed direct freeway access. But St. Joseph is only a small city and not much traffic is using it. According to this MoDOT map, the double-deck elevated structure is used by only 15,000 vehicles per day. It's a unique structure from an engineering viewpoint but it's totally understandable to tear it down if it reaches the end of its lifespan and maintenance cost becomes too high.

thspfc:
I generally don't approve of demolishing existing freeways, but this is an exception. St. Joseph should get the DOT to demolish it, and then redevelop their riverfront with a nice park or apartment complex. The US-36 freeway can stay as the main route in and out of downtown, and I-229 can be turned into a surface parkway.

The Ghostbuster:
Would it be possible to place the northbound segment of Interstate 229 directly over the existing railroad tracks, while leaving southbound on its existing alignment?

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