New I-66 Bridge (Paducah, Calvert City, Springfield: construction, shop, transportation)

[big daryle]

Are they going to start to start building the new I-66 bridge south of Wickliffe over the Mississippi River soon?

[BLS2753]

Not any time soon, if ever.

The western expansion of I-66 has existed as part of The Interstate Highway Act for many years. Probably when the Eisenhower administration did the original planning.

The federal and state governments, have told local leaders for decades, that there is no plan to fund the construction of I-66 through this region.

There are 3 separate, interest groups who want I-66 through the area:

Paducah:Wants I-66 to branch off I-24 in the Paducah area and head westbound past Barkley Airport. This would give Paducah a second Interstate and facilitate growth in outlying western areas. This is the route that would involve a new bridge at Wickliffe.

Cape Girardeau MO: Has a new state-of-the-art 4 lane bridge, that quickly narrows to a 2 lane highway on the Illinois side. Like Paducah, this would give Cape a second Interstate and faster travel to far western MO (Branson/Springfield). From Cape's perspective, the KY route isn't doable, because the route requires another bridge and would pass 50 miles south, likely through Sikeston MO.

Far southern IL: Agrees with Cape Girardeau on the routing. Would have I-66 coexist with I-24 across the Ohio River at Paducah. 10 miles north of Metropolis IL, it would branch off westbound and travel about 40 miles to the bridge at Cape Girardeau. The problem with this route is it crosses through The Cache River Wetlands area, and would have considerable environmental hurdles for approval.

I think you get the drift of the political issues involved in ever seeing this road or bridge built.

[kygman]

I read a couple years ago that the I-66 through Kentucky is done, as far as the feds are concern. To show you how bad the support for it is, the main supporter was Rep. Jim Bunning. If that doesn't do it in, I don't know what will.

[big daryle]

Originally Posted by kygman

I read a couple years ago that the I-66 through Kentucky is done, as far as the feds are concern. To show you how bad the support for it is, the main supporter was Rep. Jim Bunning. If that doesn't do it in, I don't know what will.

That is too bad, because I always felt Kentucky and Missouri needed a bridge connecting them. Sikeston and New Madrid could use the extra business too. How far away would this bridge be from the Caruthersville bridge?

[BLS2753]

Originally Posted by big daryle

That is too bad, because I always felt Kentucky and Missouri needed a bridge connecting them. Sikeston and New Madrid could use the extra business too. How far away would this bridge be from the Caruthersville bridge?

Roughly about 50 miles, depending on how you measure it.

I know they're old, but the 2 bridges between Wickliffe-Cairo-Charleston connect KY-MO. There's really not enough population between Wickliffe and Caruthersville to justify another bridge.

People on the MO side go to Cape Girardeau for shopping and healthcare, and Paducah on the KY side. There really isn't much interaction between the two, other than sharing a TV market.

[Future Trooper]

To be honest I dont understand why they are wanting to build I-66.

IMO: When they build it will most likely have very very low traffic and would just be an environmental disaster that the people of Kentucky wasted money on. I dont see any financial impacts on any town that it will go through because the chosen route doesnt have enough traffic.

[BLS2753]

Originally Posted by gdude

To be honest I dont understand why they are wanting to build I-66.

IMO: When they build it will most likely have very very low traffic and would just be an environmental disaster that the people of Kentucky wasted money on. I dont see any financial impacts on any town that it will go through because the chosen route doesnt have enough traffic.

Actually, other than a needed by-pass route from Lone Oak around the western edge of Paducah, any other new roads in this region would be considered pork barrel by most definitions.

[Future Trooper]

Originally Posted by BLS2753

Actually, other than a needed by-pass route from Lone Oak around the western edge of Paducah, any other new roads in this region would be considered pork barrel by most definitions.

Exactly

[big daryle]

I would love to someday drive the Mississippi River bridge into Cairo. I hear it is quite a structure, as aged as it may be.

[Hey_Hey]

The more important interstate for western kentucky is the completion of I-69. There will be immediate traffic on it because of the cities it connects. Memphis, indy, fort wayne, the detroit area, houston, plus many smaller but significant cities are all directly on the route, and a whole host of cities would be better connected for our area with a short drive off of I-69. It will give much of western kentucky its first direct access to the interstate system, and it will give marshall and lyon counties two interstates . Transportation and shipping developments already taking place along the Tennessee Riverfront in Calvert City would certainly be boosted, and it would certainly make development of the mega-industrial park outside of Paducah more marketable.