East-West Gateway newest long term plans - they need to be fast tracked

This week, East-West Gateway released some of their 2040 long term plans in regards to transportation. The section of 270 from the Mississippi River to Route 111 was put in the 2021-2040 range for an estimated cost of $700M. The high cost was not surprising at all. Its just surprising that IDOT wants to do anything to avoid that corridor by putting it off. They have put it off for over 20 years already (more like 25 years), and all those locals know it (the 1996-1998 and 2008 projects were nothing more than band-aids). They know that any issue happens becomes big problems almost instantly and there been way too many examples to count (some of the biggest ones already been noted in earlier posts). Everyone knows that safety is a big problem, capacity is an issue, and both the canal and river bridges is falling apart. MoDOT told the truth last month but IDOT has kept their mouth shut. IDOT has spoke very little about their canal bridge replacement project and little details were known until the Corps of Engineers posted their application earlier this year.

The good news is that there is a public hearing in regards to the 2040 Legacy plan by East-West Gateway coming up later this month. This is the best opportunity to let IDOT have some serious heat, cause they have ignored the I-270 corridor for as long as anyone can remember. IDOT needs to wake up now. MoDOT is speaking out because the locals already gave them the heat about the corridor.

upcoming canal bridge work

Well IDOT is starting their annual inspections on the canal bridge this week, along with other repairs during off peak hours. For the people that rely on going over the Chain of Rocks on a regular basis, pray hard for rain. (Honestly, nobody wants to see any more rain, but the upcoming work is weather permitting.)

Last week, KMOX posted an article about MoDOT funding issues. Apparently, MoDOT isn't shy about what really needs to be fixed when it comes to bridges. They already conceded with the safety issues, now with replacing the whole thing? IDOT really needs to wake up and face the music.