I-70

[Cratedigger]

Chris how do people in STL feel about this?

[Chris Stritzel]

Chris how do people in STL feel about this?

The debate on UrbanSTL is basically the same as it is on here, only now there’s been discussion about why US 50 is a better drive to KC than I-70.

People I’ve talked to one on one are extremely happy that 70 is being widened, and they’re a mix of Republicans and Democrats. They all want State Police to enforce keeping all trucks out of the new left lane and to make sure no one is cruising along in the left lane.

[missingkc]

I'm always baffled by laws that penalize people for driving the legal speed limit.

[shinatoo]

I'm always baffled by laws that penalize people for driving the legal speed limit.

It would be great if trucks were driving the legal speed limit in both lanes, but usually, it's 10 mph below that.

Truck in the right lane doing 60? Well, I'm doing 61 so I need to pass him up this long-ass hill that we will both slow down to 55 on.

[taxi]

Truck should not be allowed to drive in the left lane, ever.

[beautyfromashes]

I'm always baffled by laws that penalize people for driving the legal speed limit.

It would be great if trucks were driving the legal speed limit in both lanes, but usually, it's 10 mph below that.

Truck in the right lane doing 60? Well, I'm doing 61 so I need to pass him up this long-ass hill that we will both slow down to 55 on.

So many trucks now have regulators that limit their top speed to save on gas usage. So, to pass they are barely going faster than the truck they are passing and there's a line of cars behind them waiting for them to finally overtake and move to the right lane. It's annoying.

[phuqueue]

Expanding the highway to save drivers the trivial annoyance of having to slow down for a few moments doesn't seem like a great use of billions of dollars

[GRID]

95% of the time, trucks are not the problem on American highways.

[FlippantCitizen]

Expanding the highway to save drivers the trivial annoyance of having to slow down for a few moments doesn't seem like a great use of billions of dollars

truth

[shinatoo]

If only it was a few moments.

[smh]

The main purpose of keeping trucks out of the left lane on a 6-lane interstate is to minimize conflict between cars and trucks. That's always been my understanding at least. Trucks get their own passing lane (the middle lane) and drive lane (right lane). Cars get a standard drive lane (middle lane) and passing lane.

[DaveKCMO]

Turns out the funding is only for half the cost. The rest will be borrowed. We've been down this path before with MoDOT and it probably means deferred maintenance once the bill comes due. They also included funding to study and expansion of I-44.

[shinatoo]

I want to be clear I don't know if 6 lanes all the way across is the answer but a) I-70 needs to be rebuilt with proper shoulders and other safety features that bring it into this century, and b) there needs to be at least some passing lanes added on some of the hilly sections.

It's a 70-year-old highway built when cars doing 60mph were screaming down the highway.

[dakkottadavviss]

I wish it were politically feasible to toll the interstate. It would raise a lot of money for maintenance and fund a majority of the proposed roadway expansion. For some reason drivers baulk at the idea of paying $20 to drive across well over 300 miles of interstate. It's hardly a big ask when you're burning off like $40 in gas to make the trip. Not to mention the overwhelming majority of drivers on I-70 are just passing through and coming from out of state

TL;DR. Toll the interstate and make drivers pay to maintain/expand I-70. Use general funds to improve bus service and also new/existing rail service

[FangKC]

I think the problem with getting tolls approved is I-70 being in mostly rural areas where local drivers use it to go short distances from town-to-town and from their farms to a nearby town. That's where the politics come in since rural areas have an outsized influence in the state legislature.

If the gas tax were set at the right level, there would be more highway funding. It really needs to be changed from a gas tax to an annual mileage tax anyway. Gas taxes won't cut it in the future with electric cars.

[dukuboy1]

Not needed/feasible I’m sure, but what about toll lanes that serve as “fast pass lanes”. Something that allows for faster traffic from the city to areas out of metros. Let drivers choose to use the lanes or not. So the 3rd lane becomes a toll for part of but not all at certain places. KC to say Odessa. Richeport to Kingdom City and Warrenton to Ofallon. Just throwing out ideas to help generate funds on stretches that would be beneficial

[phuqueue]

If only it was a few moments.

It is only a few moments, though. It doesn't actually take very long for one truck to pass another and move back over. It doesn't meaningfully delay the drivers who get stuck behind it. This is not a real problem and not worth spending billions of dollars to solve. Make safety improvements, sure (of course, the biggest safety improvement would be to invest in alternative modes so that fewer people are driving at all), but I-70 does not need extra lanes just because drivers don't like to shut off cruise control for a minute.

[shinatoo]

If only it was a few moments.

It is only a few moments, though. It doesn't actually take very long for one truck to pass another and move back over. It doesn't meaningfully delay the drivers who get stuck behind it. This is not a real problem and not worth spending billions of dollars to solve. Make safety improvements, sure (of course, the biggest safety improvement would be to invest in alternative modes so that fewer people are driving at all), but I-70 does not need extra lanes just because drivers don't like to shut off cruise control for a minute.

15 years of driving that route several times a month I can tell you that is not the case. Often times 20-30 minutes of driving behind two trucks side by side doing 55-60mph. Sometimes longer. Not to mention the narrow shoulders and the impact that has when there is, what should be, a relatively low-impact accident.

But as I said, 3 lanes all the way might be overkill, but the interstate needs to be rebuilt and upgraded, even if it's safety improvements and maybe some slip lanes.

[phuqueue]

I imagine everybody on this board has been driving all over I-70 for years. I'm not sure anybody's anecdotes are more meaningful than anybody else's, but I can safely say I've never been stuck behind a truck for a half hour. But even if it really is common to get stuck behind a truck for that long, you only lose about six minutes at 55mph vs. 70mph. It's not worth billions of dollars to save you six minutes. According to MoDot's own estimates about the costs of congestion on I-70 (only about $30-35M/year), it's not worth billions of dollars even to save everybody on I-70 six minutes apiece.

[shinatoo]

The highway has outlived its lifespan and needs replacing. That's the bottom line. You have to keep reinvesting in infrastructure.

How much is the federal match?