Today, there was an article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in regards to widening a 5 mile section of 270 between 44 and Manchester. I went into the discussion tab where viewers can talk about the article, and there is quite a few comments "what about North County" already posted.
I went through MoDOT district 6 AADT numbers (the last year available is 2008) and here is some shocking numbers:
270 from 55 to 44: 145,871
from 44 to 40: 163,557
from 40 to Olive: 188,473
from Olive to Page: 182,064
from Page to 70: 171,075
from 70 to 370: 136,925
from 370 to Lindbergh: 184,406
from 170 to New Halls Ferry: 132,817
from New Halls Ferry to 367: 111,005
from 367 to Chain of Rocks Bridge: 56,548
The AADT throughout 270 all the way to 367 is at least 135k for 30 of 34 miles. As soon as you get past 367, the AADT drops in half in less than 4 miles to the river, as that section of 270 is only at 4 lanes of traffic. Given IDOT numbers (posted in earlier posts), it suggest that the section of 270 from Lilac to Route 3 is already nearing the EW-Gateway 2020 AADT projection.
While the truck traffic numbers we not provided, it looks like as you get closer to the river, the truck traffic percentage increases.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
The I-70 trucking corridor and the role they will play
I-270 in Illinois and Missouri is considered part of the 4 state "I-70 Corridor of the Future", which is still in talks. This obviously includes both the canal and river bridges, which is the Mississippi River crossing that the corridor favors. Trucks have favored the I-270 alignment around St. Louis ever since it opened up between 1964-1966, and IDOT did major work between 1996-1998 to reflect this. MoDOT has mentioned that various overpasses in the North County area is at the end of their useful life, as the majority of them are approaching 50 years old. Almost every westbound exit dumps you right onto Dunn Road, which is still a two-way highway, which is a big safety issue. The intersections with West Florissant and New Halls Ferry have major congestion due to the traffic light timings, and the Lindbergh interchange is slated for work.
About 20% of the current AADT of 54,700 on the COR Bridge is truck traffic. This been a route preferred by truckers for a very long time, to the point that only 10% of the roughly 116,000 AADT on the Poplar St. Bridge is truck traffic. The EW Gateway has a 2020 projection of 65,000 AADT for the COR Bridge.
Besides the canal bridge replacement project, the only other major work slated in Illinois is the interchange with Route 3. Given the proximity of those two, it will not be a surprise if both projects are done at the same time.
It appears that 2012 will be a very rough year if all the talk holds up.
About 20% of the current AADT of 54,700 on the COR Bridge is truck traffic. This been a route preferred by truckers for a very long time, to the point that only 10% of the roughly 116,000 AADT on the Poplar St. Bridge is truck traffic. The EW Gateway has a 2020 projection of 65,000 AADT for the COR Bridge.
Besides the canal bridge replacement project, the only other major work slated in Illinois is the interchange with Route 3. Given the proximity of those two, it will not be a surprise if both projects are done at the same time.
It appears that 2012 will be a very rough year if all the talk holds up.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
The need to widen 270 to 6 lanes
If you notice in the St. Louis area, much of the 270/255 loop is at least 6 lanes of traffic. The main exception of this is the section from Lilac to 255, which remains at 4 lanes of traffic. The main reason that this section of 270 has not been widened is very simple: the bridges that cross the Chain of Rocks Canal and Mississippi River would need to be replaced and this would cost hundreds of millions of dollars. (IDOT put their budgeted tab of the canal bridge replacement plans at $100M, just to give you an idea of what could cost.)
In the past decade, that area of the Mississippi River has gotten to be environmentally sensitive and many groups such as the Sierra Club have taken notice. Last month, those groups secured a big win when the Missouri Gaming Commission gave the new casino license to Cape Girardeau. This hopefully, will put a end of over 20 years of proposed casino talks in this area.
During the winter months, this area is a frequent target by bird watchers trying to get glimpse of bald eagles. The eagles love this section of the river because the rapids keep the river from icing over during segments of prolonged cold weather. This area is also home to another bird, the peregrine falcon, and there has been stories of those birds making nests on the bridge piers. Both types of birds were endangered at one point or another due to the use of certain pesticides that have since been banned.
During the spring and summer months, the river has a tendency to run at high levels. Given that much of this area is a flood plain, it is common for some sort of flooding to occur during the spring when the snow up in the plains melt and the water goes downstream.
This such dream been around for 20 years or so. The rumor mill is that MoDOT wants to do another study on the 270 North County corridor. IDOT is just more concerned with everything else right now. Historically, IDOT has never given a care about improving 270, and when you drive on 270 in the St. Louis area you will notice a night and day difference on development on both sides of the river. (Take a note of the AADT on both sides of the river as well.) However, IDOT is on the hook if something goes horribly wrong on the COR and the next time that does happen will not be the first time.
In the past decade, that area of the Mississippi River has gotten to be environmentally sensitive and many groups such as the Sierra Club have taken notice. Last month, those groups secured a big win when the Missouri Gaming Commission gave the new casino license to Cape Girardeau. This hopefully, will put a end of over 20 years of proposed casino talks in this area.
During the winter months, this area is a frequent target by bird watchers trying to get glimpse of bald eagles. The eagles love this section of the river because the rapids keep the river from icing over during segments of prolonged cold weather. This area is also home to another bird, the peregrine falcon, and there has been stories of those birds making nests on the bridge piers. Both types of birds were endangered at one point or another due to the use of certain pesticides that have since been banned.
During the spring and summer months, the river has a tendency to run at high levels. Given that much of this area is a flood plain, it is common for some sort of flooding to occur during the spring when the snow up in the plains melt and the water goes downstream.
This such dream been around for 20 years or so. The rumor mill is that MoDOT wants to do another study on the 270 North County corridor. IDOT is just more concerned with everything else right now. Historically, IDOT has never given a care about improving 270, and when you drive on 270 in the St. Louis area you will notice a night and day difference on development on both sides of the river. (Take a note of the AADT on both sides of the river as well.) However, IDOT is on the hook if something goes horribly wrong on the COR and the next time that does happen will not be the first time.
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