(https://c8.staticflickr.com/6/5494/30836574791_1c6669e466.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/NYVvmB)
Really? Only 2 lanes in each direction? :banghead: :banghead:
It's good that they're re-configuring this exit. The previous design had some odd-ball left exit and left entrances going to and from I-35 (visible in Google Earth historical imagery). The old Northbound I-35 lanes are cropped out of the image in this thread. They run just East of the intersection. They were still in use as of March when the current imagery was taken. It looks like the new Northbound I-35 lanes are temporarily being used for Southbound I-35 traffic. The new Southbound lanes will be built to the left of the new lanes now in use.
But it does indeed seem pretty stupid to re-build this interchange, along with doing a whole lot of grading work, just to lay down 2 lanes in each direction for the finished design. They're doing other rehab/rebuild work on I-35 in that area and not expanding capacity beyond 2 lanes in each direction in those other spots.
Huh? I don't see any evidence that the bridges are being built for only two lanes each way.
The I-35 bridge they recently finished over NE Pleasant Valley Road is not wide enough to hold 3 lanes. It's just a 2 lane bridge. In the Google Earth imagery it is holding Southbound traffic, but will be switched to hold Northbound traffic when the project is complete. Looking closely, the 3/27/2016 imagery shows a new bridge pier erected to the left of the recently completed bridge. I-35 will be just 4 lanes total going through there when the project is complete. Almost makes me wonder why they even bothered with this project at all. Maybe the existing interchange was literally falling apart.
At least NE Pleasant Valley Road is going to be wider through that intersection when the project is complete. Going from 2 lanes to 4. Woo hoo!
:-D
Quote from: Bobby5280 on November 14, 2016, 03:20:35 PM
The I-35 bridge they recently finished over NE Pleasant Valley Road is not wide enough to hold 3 lanes. It's just a 2 lane bridge. In the Google Earth imagery it is holding Southbound traffic, but will be switched to hold Northbound traffic when the project is complete. Looking closely, the 3/27/2016 imagery shows a new bridge pier erected to the left of the recently completed bridge. I-35 will be just 4 lanes total going through there when the project is complete. Almost makes me wonder why they even bothered with this project at all. Maybe the existing interchange was literally falling apart.
At least NE Pleasant Valley Road is going to be wider through that intersection when the project is complete. Going from 2 lanes to 4. Woo hoo!
:-D
If they need to ever expand it to 3 lanes, maybe they will do something similar to what they did for the I-435 bridges over I-35 for the JoCo Gateway project. AFAIK, they didn't tear down the existing bridges but they built extra lanes in the gap between the EB and WB bridges. I'm not a Civil engineer so I don't know what that building technique is called.
Here's an image from their website: http://www.modot.org/kansascity/major_projects/documents/J4I3005FinalDesignHandout_400.pdf