I-49

[kcmajik]

OMG...McDonald CO. Mo which is where anderson and pineville are(just north of arkansas about 7 miles) is the most treacherous patch of US highway i've seen. 65 between here and little rock is bad but 71 in mcdonald county is terrible. im pretty sure they are completely rebuilding the whole road through there and going to use the old road for access highway. there's another intern here from rogers arkansas and he says that it's not arkansas i-540 to missouri border either...he says it actually stops at bella vista and becomes us 71 from there and isn't limited access anymore...which is weird because i though all interstates had to go from interstate to interstate, state line to interstate, or state line to state line. hmmmm???

eventually i think 65 is also supposed to be 4-laned/freeway from little rock(or at least conway) to des moines through springfield and sedalia.

[KCN]

I was in Arkansas last summer. And, if I remember correctly, they were tearing a path for a new roadway to the east of the current US 71 between the Bella Vista and Neosho.

Yeah I think I remember that as well. I know north of Neosho seemed to be a brand new looking 4-lane highway. Maybe they already have plans to upgrade that stretch. It'll take a lot of work right at the border though, that seemed to be where the road was its windiest.

US 65 4 lanes all that way? That will take YEARS. Look at how long it's been taking to upgrade US 63 to 4 lanes just from Columbia to Macon. Or even how long it took to upgrade US 65 between Springfield and Branson. That seemed to be at least a 10 year project right there.

[kcmajik]

yeah i know- currently they are four-laning from omahaarkansas to conway and if prop B would have passed 2 years ago they would be four-laning from springfield to warsaw....that sucks though. i think these springfield/branson peeps get excited about that iowa and minnesota money.

[KCN]

Springfield to Warsaw would be great. There's no real straight through route to Springfield from KC. You can take 71 to I-44 (which I do) but if you look at a map that goes out of the way. Or you could take MO-13 down but that's a 2 lane road that goes through small towns. I-70 to a 4-lane US 65 would be awesome.

[Missionite]

you could take MO-13 down but that's a 2 lane road that goes through small towns.

Actually...I used to take 71 to 44. But then I gave 13 a whirl several years ago because I was craving some Osceola Cheese. Hwy 13 is now four lanes almost the entire way to Springfield and I think it's a bit faster than 71 was. What little bit isn't four lanes they are working on and it should be completed within the next year or so I'd assume.

Matt

[KCN]

Really? That's good to hear. How many times do you have to stop or slow down to go through a town?

[scooterj]

Or you could take MO-13 down but that's a 2 lane road that goes through small towns.

Actually that's not entirely true anymore. The 71-7-13 route is the way most people I know go, including the people I know who are from Springfield and now live in KC. 71 is freeway to Harrisonbville, then 7 is now freeway with just a few spots of 4-lane all the way to Clinton, and finally the remaining short portions of 13 that haven't been converted to freeway or 4-lane yet are being upgraded. You can go 65 to 70 mph almost the entire route, it's direct, and other than a few traffic lights in Clinton only a couple of stops remain on the entire route. Typically I get to Springfield in about 2 hours going that way, and have sometimes gotten there faster than that.

[KCN]

Yeah this is what I get for forming my opinion of that route from a trip many many years ago. I wonder how many hours I've wasted taking the 71 to 44 way.

[kcmajik]

hwy 13 is definately the fastest route. that's the way i always come home. the only part that's not 4 laned- andthey are currently working on 4 laning it- is from north of Bolivar to just south of lowry city about 8 miles. it's a pretty nice drive through there. you'd be surprised how many folks are driving 80 miles per hour through there. i think everyone going north is going to the city and can't stand driving throught the country.

[kcmajik]

something i just kind of noticed this weekend as i was going to fayetteville. the construction on 71 highway has new traffic lights up....i was thinking this was supposed to be a freeway/limited access highway....unless they are building a bypass that i am unaware of.

[supastudio]

There was a little blurb of this on Fox 4

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/pressroom/fhwa1904j.htm

October 27, 2004
Contact: Doug Hecox, 202-366-0660
FHWA 19-04j

U.S. DOT Grant to Fund U.S. 71 Construction in Arkansas

A new $306,448 Federal Highway Administration grant to build a nearly 20-mile segment of U.S. 71 will add economic opportunity across southwest Arkansas, U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta said today.

"Upgrading this highway will put southwest Arkansas on the path to increased economic growth," Secretary Mineta said. "The new highway will open this important region to new opportunity and fuel prosperity for its residents."

The section of U.S. 71 is currently a two-lane highway stretching from DeQueen, AR, to the Louisiana state line. It will eventually become part of four-lane Interstate 49 and connect Kansas City, MO, to New Orleans, LA.

"President Bush knows that transportation investments are ensuring that goods make it to store shelves, and helping Arkansans get to their jobs and home again safely and on time," said Federal Highway Administrator Mary E. Peters.


Right now Interstate 49 is contained completely in Louisiana.

[scooterj]

Yep, this has been in the works for years. Unfortunately once it does get completed, which is probably at least 20 years off, it will have to end at 435 and not connect to downtown KC unless by then we have finally gotten rid of those stupid traffic lights.

[STL_Lover]

So will this be cutting through any neighborhoods?

[staubio]

No, it will use the existing 71 corridor, much of which is expressway anyway.

As previously stated, it will terminate at the Grandview Triangle in the southeast part of KC.

[dangerboy]

They will just put up I-49 signs on the existing US 71, once it has all been upgraded to interstate standards.

MoDOT has been working on this incrementally for 20 years or more. There's no big project to get it done. They just upgrade a little more evey year as the budget allows.

[KCN]

US 71 in MO won't be too difficult to upgrade. The highway is already up to interstate standards at all the major towns from KC to Joplin (Harrisonville/Butler/Rich Hill/Nevada/Lamar/Carthage). All that is needed is maybe 5 extra overpasses and get rid of the small roads that intersect it. Maybe add some feeder roads.

That would be silly to have 3 or 4 traffic lights preventing I-29 and I-49 from being essentially one interstate from Grand Forks, ND to Lafayette, LA.

[dangerboy]

They could also route I-49 along the eastern leg of I-435 to connect with I-29 and onto North Dakota.

[trailerkid]

I-49 lacking K.C. mayor's blessing

Associated Press

KANSAS CITY — Members of a three-state coalition pushing for creation of an interstate highway that would run between Kansas City and New Orleans said Monday that the $4.9 billion price tag would be recouped over six years in time and travel cost savings.

The project would convert U.S. 71 from Kansas City to Shreveport, La., into Interstate 49. Part of I-49, between Shreveport and Lafayette, La., already has been completed. I-540 in northwestern Arkansas would also be part of the I-49 corridor.

Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes, who thanked members of the I-49 International Coalition for meeting in her city Monday, stopped short of endorsing the project.

"I think it's important that we explore the process," she said. "Obviously in Kansas City, we have many initiatives that we feel are important. This is one we've been discussing for a lengthy period, and we're exploring it right now."

Like other big projects, the cost is something that needs to be carefully examined, she said.

Eric Tober, a Washington attorney who has lobbied for the project, told the coalition that measures related to funding the interstate plan could be voted on by the Senate as early as Tuesday.

One advantage of I-49 over other big corridor projects, Tober said, is that most of the planning and environmental impact studies already have been completed. Overall, there are 45 similar highway projects across the country, he said, and Interstate 49 is among the most prominent.

"I-49 is first on that list and farthest along in the process," Tober said. "It's ready to go to construction."

Completion of the Kansas City-to-New Orleans route would save drivers about 3� hours of time on the highway, he said, resulting in a savings of billions of dollars.

Besides shortening travel time, I-49 would ease congestion along other interstate highways in the Midwest, said J. Kent Rogers, executive director of the Northwest Louisiana Council of Governments. And it would create roughly 206,000 jobs, he said.

"That's a lot of people at work and a lot of money in the system," Rogers said.

The coalition was organized three years ago to promote completion of the entire route between Kansas City and New Orleans.

[KCN]

If and when I-49 gets completed, 71 through the urban core will HAVE to be upgraded to a full interstate.  I don't care if I-49 technically stops at I-435, and I don't care what this does to the urbanity of the neighborhood, people coming up I-49 will still use 71 up to downtown and then 29 up to Omaha/Sioux Falls/Fargo/Grand Forks as part of one of the premier north/south routes up the entire middle of the country from LA to ND and into central Canada.  Having truckers and travellers unfamiliar w/ KC coming to these sudden stoplights will be disasterous.

[trailerkid]

If and when I-49 gets completed, 71 through the urban core will HAVE to be upgraded to a full interstate.  I don't care if I-49 technically stops at I-435, and I don't care what this does to the urbanity of the neighborhood, people coming up I-49 will still use 71 up to downtown and then 29 up to Omaha/Sioux Falls/Fargo/Grand Forks as part of one of the premier north/south routes up the entire middle of the country from LA to ND and into central Canada.  Having truckers and travellers unfamiliar w/ KC coming to these sudden stoplights will be disasterous.

Some neighborhood leaders have already conceded that 71 would be better as an expressway without stop lights.