I-70 on MO side of KC could be widened to 8 lanes soon... (Kansas City: chapel)

[kcmo]

This is so long overdue.

I-70 desperately needs to be rebuilt and widened on the MO side of KC.

PIcture an eight-lane I-70 - Independence, MO - The Examiner

[famusdarlin]

This is overdue, however I wonder if it's enough. How long will this help? I like the idea of a carpool lane.

[OneKC]

Yippee, more highways to cost taxpayers millions to build and maintain.

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by OneKC

Yippee, more highways to cost taxpayers millions to build and maintain.

Actually, it's fixing the highways you have and that stretch of 70 in KC is one of the oldest stretches of urban highway that I have seen. Long over due, even if it's replaced with a six lane highway. If Modot wasn't building new highways in StL all the time (370, Page Ave etc), maybe KC wouldn't have so many 1950's era highways . Again, lack of representation in Jeff City...

Now highways like the proposed beltway around the south part of the metro? Those are a waste. Killing that highway may be one reason why so much of the new housing is going north now where highways have been ready for development for decades vs south where you have new houses going up 10-15 miles from the congested 435 beltway.

[lifelongMOgal]

From the KMBZ 980 website:

Part of I-70 closed, MODOT ready for public comment

MoDot crews (plan to) shut down the ramp from westbound I-70 to Noland road this morning, and the shutdown could last until May first. MoDot will be making repairs to the ramp. Meanwhile, Officials have reportedly scrapped an idea to widen the highway because of complications due to property and homeowner displacement. Now there will be a concentration on straightening the Benton and Jackson curves, eliminating some of the on and off ramps-especially near the downtown loop. And possibly building more shoulder area to be used by buses. Segregated car-pool areas are no longer in the works. MODOT is taking your thoughts on what should be done to improve I-70 in Kansas City. Tonight's the first of two public meetings and you can contribute online through MODOT.org. Tonight's public meeting is from 4 to 7 at Noland Road baptist church in independence... there's another one tomorrow night at the same time at Gregg/Klice Community Center in Kansas City.

[kcmo]

They are not scrapping widening I-70. That story is misleading.

They want to widen it between 435 and 470 and just rebuild and improve it between downtown and 435 which makes total sense.

I-70 is much busier between 435 and 470 than it is west of 435. Just like I-35 in JoCo is much busier between 435 and 635 than it is between 635 and Downtown. The part of 70 between downtown and 435 is only busy at rush hour while 70 east of 435 is congested all the time including weekends.

I drove downtown from Blue Springs/Lee's Summit for five years and 70 started backing up about Indep Center or Woods Chapel and once you get past about Blue Ridge it opens up because so many people jump off 70 to go north or south on 435 and there is no more merging west of 435. Very few people using the exits while exits east of 435 are very busy.

It only makes sense to widen 70 between 435 and 470 (eventually past Blue Springs) to eight lanes. Six lanes west of 435 with better ramps, and straightened curves will be fine.

470 is going to be a disaster though. That thing is congested all the time now from 70 down to 50 and needs to be widened to six lanes.

I still say that the KC area has THE WORST urban drivers in the nation though. If you can figure out a way to teach people to not drive 50 in the left lanes or how to get on a freeway going the speed of traffic rather than expecting freeway traffic to slow to 40mph and let you on, you would take care of 90% of the congestion issues in KC.

Most of the time, delays on I-70 during rush hour were not volume related, but simply stupid people driving 45mph with a mile of open pavement in front of them. Get tow or three morons like that taking up all three lanes combined with people getting on the freeway at 30 mph and you have what causes nearly all the serious congestion (and accidents/road rage) in KC.