I-57 Approved

[I-39]

I see both Missouri and Arkansas both plan to begin construction this year in the sections that connect at the state line. Any more word on when phase 3 for Missouri will begin as well as when the Sikeston to Poplar Bluff conversion will begin?

[Molandfreak]

Is there a plan for the business loops on the path of I-57 in Missouri? It would make sense to retain both of the loops in Poplar Bluff and simply add on an I-57 business loop, but what about the ones in Dexter and Sikeston? Will the US 60 business loops be decommissioned and I-57 loops replace them?

[ModernDayWarrior]

Is there a plan for the business loops on the path of I-57 in Missouri? It would make sense to retain both of the loops in Poplar Bluff and simply add on an I-57 business loop, but what about the ones in Dexter and Sikeston? Will the US 60 business loops be decommissioned and I-57 loops replace them?

This was what MoDOT did when US-71 was upgraded to I-49, so my guess is that will be the case here too.

[The Ghostbuster]

I would expect Business 60/67 to remain. I agree both should remain even if a Business 57 is designated.

[TBKS1]

Is there a plan for the business loops on the path of I-57 in Missouri? It would make sense to retain both of the loops in Poplar Bluff and simply add on an I-57 business loop, but what about the ones in Dexter and Sikeston? Will the US 60 business loops be decommissioned and I-57 loops replace them?

This was what MoDOT did when US-71 was upgraded to I-49, so my guess is that will be the case here too.

I would expect Business 60/67 to remain. I agree both should remain even if a Business 57 is designated.

MODOT kinda has an obsession with BIs, I definitely do expect a few others to be added in addition to the already existing BUs in Poplar Bluff, Dexter, and Sikeston (although IMO a BI in Sikeston is less likely to be added). I-57 already has a business route in Charleston, MO despite it being overlapping with MO 105 and US 62 the entire length, so I don't think previously existing routes are really going to be a determining factor whether or not they want to add them.

[Revive 755]

Is there a plan for the business loops on the path of I-57 in Missouri? It would make sense to retain both of the loops in Poplar Bluff and simply add on an I-57 business loop, but what about the ones in Dexter and Sikeston? Will the US 60 business loops be decommissioned and I-57 loops replace them?

This was what MoDOT did when US-71 was upgraded to I-49, so my guess is that will be the case here too.

MoDOT seems to be going away from business routes since the I-49 upgrade, so I don't know.  The one for 44 in Lebanon was officially decommissioned through AASHTO.  The one for I-70 in St. Charles seems to have had any mention on I-70 removed (Streetview - look at the 2022 versus 2024 imagery).  The one on I-55 for Festus-Crystal City has also had any mention on I-55 removed, though there are still a few shields along US 61/US 67.

Then there's the new Business 61 added through Kelso and part of Scott City over use of an I-55 business loop (compare the 2022 versus 2019 Streetview images)

[ElishaGOtis]

I would expect Business 60/67 to remain. I agree both should remain even if a Business 57 is designated.

US-67 Business should be replaced with BL-57 due to the Great Meme Reset of 2026

*ducks and hides*

technically fictional but I do think that MODOT may follow the precedent with I-49.

[Henry]

Is there a plan for the business loops on the path of I-57 in Missouri? It would make sense to retain both of the loops in Poplar Bluff and simply add on an I-57 business loop, but what about the ones in Dexter and Sikeston? Will the US 60 business loops be decommissioned and I-57 loops replace them?

This was what MoDOT did when US-71 was upgraded to I-49, so my guess is that will be the case here too.

MoDOT seems to be going away from business routes since the I-49 upgrade, so I don't know.  The one for 44 in Lebanon was officially decommissioned through AASHTO.  The one for I-70 in St. Charles seems to have had any mention on I-70 removed (Streetview - look at the 2022 versus 2024 imagery).  The one on I-55 for Festus-Crystal City has also had any mention on I-55 removed, though there are still a few shields along US 61/US 67.

Then there's the new Business 61 added through Kelso and part of Scott City over use of an I-55 business loop (compare the 2022 versus 2019 Streetview images)

My guess is that Business Loops are becoming so outdated that many more states are decommissioning them too, like the BL 40 freeway loops in NC, part of BL 80 in Sacramento, and a few others elsewhere. If so, they've gone the way of Temporary Interstates, which were last used around 30 years ago (say, 1996).

[abqtraveler]

Is there a plan for the business loops on the path of I-57 in Missouri? It would make sense to retain both of the loops in Poplar Bluff and simply add on an I-57 business loop, but what about the ones in Dexter and Sikeston? Will the US 60 business loops be decommissioned and I-57 loops replace them?

This was what MoDOT did when US-71 was upgraded to I-49, so my guess is that will be the case here too.

MoDOT seems to be going away from business routes since the I-49 upgrade, so I don't know.  The one for 44 in Lebanon was officially decommissioned through AASHTO.  The one for I-70 in St. Charles seems to have had any mention on I-70 removed (Streetview - look at the 2022 versus 2024 imagery).  The one on I-55 for Festus-Crystal City has also had any mention on I-55 removed, though there are still a few shields along US 61/US 67.

Then there's the new Business 61 added through Kelso and part of Scott City over use of an I-55 business loop (compare the 2022 versus 2019 Streetview images)

My guess is that Business Loops are becoming so outdated that many more states are decommissioning them too, like the BL 40 freeway loops in NC, part of BL 80 in Sacramento, and a few others elsewhere. If so, they've gone the way of Temporary Interstates, which were last used around 30 years ago (say, 1996).

If you delve deeper into the trend of states eliminating business loops, you'll find in many instances the state is also transferring ownership of the roadway to the local community it serves. That has become a huge trend out here in New Mexico, where NMDOT is simply unloading its highway mileage that falls within the limits of incorporated cities and towns over to those municipalities. I guess they're doing that as a way of reducing their maintenance costs to balance their budget.

[Road Hog]

Is there a plan for the business loops on the path of I-57 in Missouri? It would make sense to retain both of the loops in Poplar Bluff and simply add on an I-57 business loop, but what about the ones in Dexter and Sikeston? Will the US 60 business loops be decommissioned and I-57 loops replace them?

This was what MoDOT did when US-71 was upgraded to I-49, so my guess is that will be the case here too.

MoDOT seems to be going away from business routes since the I-49 upgrade, so I don't know.  The one for 44 in Lebanon was officially decommissioned through AASHTO.  The one for I-70 in St. Charles seems to have had any mention on I-70 removed (Streetview - look at the 2022 versus 2024 imagery).  The one on I-55 for Festus-Crystal City has also had any mention on I-55 removed, though there are still a few shields along US 61/US 67.

Then there's the new Business 61 added through Kelso and part of Scott City over use of an I-55 business loop (compare the 2022 versus 2019 Streetview images)

My guess is that Business Loops are becoming so outdated that many more states are decommissioning them too, like the BL 40 freeway loops in NC, part of BL 80 in Sacramento, and a few others elsewhere. If so, they've gone the way of Temporary Interstates, which were last used around 30 years ago (say, 1996).

If you delve deeper into the trend of states eliminating business loops, you'll find in many instances the state is also transferring ownership of the roadway to the local community it serves. That has become a huge trend out here in New Mexico, where NMDOT is simply unloading its highway mileage that falls within the limits of incorporated cities and towns over to those municipalities. I guess they're doing that as a way of reducing their maintenance costs to balance their budget.

That is happening in Arkansas where ARDOT has transferred state mileage to some cities, in particular Cabot. It happens in Texas too, but there's a more formal structure where TxDOT will build a city arterial and then transfer it over.

[bugo]

it would not surprise me if substantial parts of I-57 North of Walnut Ridge were made with a single concrete slab 5 lanes wide (plus outboard shoulders). A cable barrier would run down the middle of it. That's opposed to the normal configuration of two separate roadways and a big median in between.

Has Arkansas ever built a highway like that? I don't know of any Arkansas Interstates that are basically Arkansas Freeways with a flimsy cable median. I expect the highway to by a typical 4 lane dual carriageway freeway.

[ElishaGOtis]

it would not surprise me if substantial parts of I-57 North of Walnut Ridge were made with a single concrete slab 5 lanes wide (plus outboard shoulders). A cable barrier would run down the middle of it. That's opposed to the normal configuration of two separate roadways and a big median in between.

Has Arkansas ever built a highway like that? I don't know of any Arkansas Interstates that are basically Arkansas Freeways with a flimsy cable median. I expect the highway to by a typical 4 lane dual carriageway freeway.

Sort of... While it is a full median barrier, the width is only about 12 feet, equivalent to a lane.

Similar examples, but wider:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/WLWxLkS4t3zC7cHA8
https://maps.app.goo.gl/N7Fhk8wzpnRqBr1VA
https://maps.app.goo.gl/JAzXhdQe4SeASSDo6 (Cable barrier)
https://maps.app.goo.gl/zrEZMeA7gsx2ww998 (Expressway with raised median)

[Great Lakes Roads]

A contract was awarded to Weaver-Bailey Contractors, Inc. for $53.9 million on I-57/Highway 5 interchange reconstruction to a SPUI in Cabot. Estimated completion date is mid-2028.

[Bobby5280]

Damn. A SPUI costs over $50 million now?

I remember the I-35 and Main Street SPUI interchange project in Norman, OK; it was completed in 2014 for around $25 million. It was part of a bigger project involving two other interchanges, a SPUI at Lindsey and a complicated half cloverleaf interchange with OK-9, which included some braided ramps. The whole 3 interchange project cost $71 million.

It looks like interchange costs have roughly doubled, if not more, in the past 12 years.

[Rothman]

Damn. A SPUI costs over $50 million now?

I remember the I-35 and Main Street SPUI interchange project in Norman, OK; it was completed in 2014 for around $25 million. It was part of a bigger project involving two other interchanges, a SPUI at Lindsey and a complicated half cloverleaf interchange with OK-9, which included some braided ramps. The whole 3 interchange project cost $71 million.

It looks like interchange costs have roughly doubled, if not more, in the past 12 years.

Construction inflation really took off over the last five to ten years.  Heck, I heard a DOT engineer estimate that pavement markings contracts are going to hit the $10m mark soon, let alone the increased costs in decent-sized SPUIs...

[Road Hog]

Weaver-Bailey kicked ass in the first build job in 2017-2018. They did the segment from Vandenberg (Exit 11) to Highway 5 (Exit 16) in less than a year and a half. Their win was in pouring each main lane in one go twice and avoiding all the center construction rigamarole.

In comparison, the replacement contractor for the failed initial one just last year opened I-30 south of Benton to six lanes, and that job didn't start that much later than the north Jacksonville job. I'm guessing there's still some unfinished work.

[Road Hog]

it would not surprise me if substantial parts of I-57 North of Walnut Ridge were made with a single concrete slab 5 lanes wide (plus outboard shoulders). A cable barrier would run down the middle of it. That's opposed to the normal configuration of two separate roadways and a big median in between.

Has Arkansas ever built a highway like that? I don't know of any Arkansas Interstates that are basically Arkansas Freeways with a flimsy cable median. I expect the highway to by a typical 4 lane dual carriageway freeway.

That's basically how US 75 (future I-45) was reconstructed in southern Grayson County in the 2000s. Except they put in a full-fledged Jersey barrier instead of cable barriers in the median and wired it for lights. And they did the shoulder work to make it 6-lane friendly in the future.

Don't remember who the contractor was but it may have been Sinacola, which seems to do good work in the DFW area.

[ElishaGOtis]

it would not surprise me if substantial parts of I-57 North of Walnut Ridge were made with a single concrete slab 5 lanes wide (plus outboard shoulders). A cable barrier would run down the middle of it. That's opposed to the normal configuration of two separate roadways and a big median in between.

Has Arkansas ever built a highway like that? I don't know of any Arkansas Interstates that are basically Arkansas Freeways with a flimsy cable median. I expect the highway to by a typical 4 lane dual carriageway freeway.

That's basically how US 75 (future I-45) was reconstructed in southern Grayson County in the 2000s.

I'm an I-43 believer    

[splashflash]

it would not surprise me if substantial parts of I-57 North of Walnut Ridge were made with a single concrete slab 5 lanes wide (plus outboard shoulders). A cable barrier would run down the middle of it. That's opposed to the normal configuration of two separate roadways and a big median in between.

Has Arkansas ever built a highway like that? I don't know of any Arkansas Interstates that are basically Arkansas Freeways with a flimsy cable median. I expect the highway to by a typical 4 lane dual carriageway freeway.

That's basically how US 75 (future I-45) was reconstructed in southern Grayson County in the 2000s.

I'm an I-43 believer    

You think I-45 might extend northwest to Witchita Falls while US 69/75 becomes I-43?

[Bobby5280]

I think I-45 could be extended along US-69/75 and then continue on with US-69 from McAlester up to Big Cabin. This "I-43" thing could run along the Indian Nation Turnpike and continue along US-75 in Henryetta up thru Tulsa. It could be potentially extended farther North thru Bartlesville and into Kansas. At least that's something which would make the I-343 bullshit make some sense.

US-287 from Fort Worth to Amarillo ought to be called "I-32."

[bugo]

Similar examples, but wider:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/WLWxLkS4t3zC7cHA8

That road was built as a super 2. It is also not an Interstate.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/N7Fhk8wzpnRqBr1VA

The right of way is narrow because this stretch of highway goes through rugged terrain. I-57 will go through a mostly flat area.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/JAzXhdQe4SeASSDo6 (Cable barrier)

There is a median. Just a narrow one.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/zrEZMeA7gsx2ww998 (Expressway with raised median)

This road is a surface highway. Not a freeway.

None of these examples are the same.

[edwaleni]

Corning Bypass construction:

Tree removal in the background north of Corning looking SW from US-67



Utility relocation west of Corning.

[The Ghostbuster]

Are those two pictures from Google Maps Street View? If not, here are the two locations of the signs: https://www.google.com/maps/@36.4117294,-90.6362804,114m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDIxMS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D (west of Corning); https://www.google.com/maps/@36.4475981,-90.5855384,227m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDIxMS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D (north of Corning).

[ilpt4u]

Another FB post by Poplar Bluff MO Chamber of Commerce includes 2 pictures of the Corning Arkansas Bypass under construction (early stages but progress) and also 1 picture of I-57 just south of MOUS 160 that is pretty far along with both carriageways paved and both Frontage Roads in place (pretty sure one of the Frontages is existing US 67)

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0R15E3nuju4mjiA2ASjtsMFeHCuyet47UEVZv3sz8tYEtvCwdCPhDgQLWvmarMQLXl&id=100064541656615

Did you mean US 160/MO 158?

Yes...DOH!
Fixed

[74/171FAN]

Another FB post by Poplar Bluff MO Chamber of Commerce includes 2 pictures of the Corning Arkansas Bypass under construction (early stages but progress) and also 1 picture of I-57 just south of MO 160 that is pretty far along with both carriageways paved and both Frontage Roads in place (pretty sure one of the Frontages is existing US 67)

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0R15E3nuju4mjiA2ASjtsMFeHCuyet47UEVZv3sz8tYEtvCwdCPhDgQLWvmarMQLXl&id=100064541656615

Did you mean US 160/MO 158?