Missing Movements 1: Northbound I-55 to Westbound I-64 (Part 1)

This could be a recurring series where I have fun with a spreadsheet and online satellite imagery to try and determine the best route between two points which is hindered by a canceled highway project.

The cancellation of MO 755 took with the best plan to provide connections between I-55 and I-64 (another option, via a freeway in the Kingshighway corridor, died even earlier). Today, using a spreadsheet for calculations and measuring distances via online satellite images, I will attempt to estimate the best way to make the move between Northbound I-55 and Westbound I-64. Due to differences in ramp configurations, turn prohibitions, and one-way streets, the result may not be the same for the Eastbound I-64 to Southbound I-55 movement.

A few assumptions for these calculations:

1) Travel speed was set at the posted speed limit, or posted ramp advisory speed. If the speed limit for a route was unknown, it was guessed.

2) All stop signs encountered add five seconds to the travel time (I’m just guessing on this value). Having to wait for other vehicles to take their turn would add more time, but since such additions are random, I will stick with the five second addition.

3) All intersections with a traffic signal will add 30 seconds to a route. Yes, on some days many traffic lights will be encountered in the green phase and not add any time, while some traffic lights will likely add more than a minute. Since this is an informal project for fun, I don’t feel like taking the time and hassle to obtain signal timing information from MoDOT and St. Louis City.

4) If a yield sign is encountered for a right turn next to a stop sign, no time is added. For a yield sign next to a traffic light, 30 seconds will be added. This is another subjective choice, but if one gets to the yield sign at the same time the adjacent stoplight changes, it can take just as long as if the turn was also controlled by the stoplight.

5) All speed changes are instantaneous.

6) No time penalties for turns – I may fix this in a future version.

7) No delays from traffic congestion
Measurements were started from the Sidney Street Bridge over I-55 and ended at the Tamm Avenue Bridge over I-64.

The routes evaluated, going from east to west:

1) Stay on I-55 into Illinois and make a U-Turn using the ramp between the Tudor Exit and Piggott Entrance

This is the longest and most indirect route evaluated at 11.24 miles (59,363’) but the only all-freeway option available. Travel time via this route is 12.9 minutes (778 seconds).

On many days, the travel time value will be greater due to having to face PSB congestion twice. Northbound traffic can back up to the I-44 merge on the worst days, while traffic for Southbound I-55 can back up over the PSB and congested the adjacent lanes, or even make accessing Westbound I-64 from the westbound Collector-Distributor (C-D) roadway near impossible.

2) Exit at Memorial Drive, make a U-Turn at Market Street, travel south to Spruce Street, take Spruce Street west to Broadway, and access Westbound I-64 from Broadway.

This is one of the longer routes both for distance (8.48 miles) and travel time. Encountering eight stoplights, this route would take around 13.8 minutes to traverse.

Like the Tudor U-Turn route, this route is also susceptible to PSB congestion, although Southbound Memorial Drive does not seem to back up as much as the I-55 ramps to and from the PSB. This route is more susceptible to congestion from Busch Stadium, and is completely unusable whenever Memorial Drive is closed. The traffic lights at Market also takes a long time to cycle through, which may add an additional minute to this route.

3) Exit at Memorial Drive, take Market Street west to Broadway, and then head south on Broadway to access I-64.

This route is similar in length (8.49 miles) to simply making a U-Turn on Memorial, but an additional stoplight can add additional time to this route, making it take 14.32 minutes to traverse.

4) Exit I-55 at Park Avenue, take Fourth Street north to Clark Avenue, take Clark Avenue to Broadway, and then take Broadway back south to access I-64

This route, 7.98 miles long, faces nine stoplights, giving it a travel time of 13.97 minutes. However, congestion from the Northbound I-55 ramp to the PSB can make accessing this route impossible.

5) Exit I-55 at Park Avenue, take Seventh Street north to Clark Avenue, take Clark east to Broadway, and then head south on Broadway to access I-64

This route is less direct than taking Fourth Street to Clark. At 8.13 miles long and with 11 stoplights, this route takes 15.28 minutes to traverse.

6) Exit I-55 at Park Avenue, take Seventh Street north to Clark Avenue, take Clark west to the 10th Street entrance to I-64

While shorter than the other routes using the Park Avenue Exit at 7.73 miles, the 10 stoplights along this route could make this route take at least 14.18 minutes to traverse (assuming all green lights, the time could be as little as 9.19 minutes).

7) Exit I-55 at Gravois Avenue, take the Gravois/Tucker corridor to Clark Avenue, then head east on Clark Avenue to access the 10th Street Entrance to I-64

One would encounter nine stoplights on this 7.45 mile route, given it a time to traverse of 13.70 minutes (or as little as 9.20 on all green lights).

8) Exit I-55 at Gravois Avenue, take the Gravois/Tucker corridor to Clark Avenue, then head west to access I-64 from Clark Avenue

This one has a length of 7.10 miles, encounters seven stoplights, and has a time to traverse of 12.25 minutes

9) Take the Truman Parkway north to Chouteau, head east on Chouteau to 14th Street, then north on 14th to the entrance ramp to I-64 at the Clark Avenue intersection

This 7.10 mile route encounters six stoplights and one stop sign and requires around 11.82 minutes to traverse.

10) Take the Truman Parkway north to Chouteau, head west on Chouteau to Jefferson, then north on Jefferson to I-64

This route is 6.49 miles long and has seven stoplights. Time to traverse this option is 11.69 minutes.

11) Take I-44 west to Jefferson, then north on Jefferson to I-64

Depending upon traffic, this route may not be possible since there is a little short of a half mile to weave across I-44 to access the Jefferson Avenue exit. This route is 6.55 miles long, has eight stoplights and takes around 12.11 minutes to traverse (or 8.11 minutes on all green lights, but at least for me that used to be pretty hard to get).

Even though the ramp to Westbound I-44 from Northbound I-55 is posted for 20 miles per hour, many drivers seem to ignore that posting, so for this exercise the speed of the ramp was taken as 30 miles per hour (using 20 miles per hour increase the travel time by about five seconds). All further routes keep the 30 miles per hour speed for this ramp.

12) Take I-44 west to the Grand Avenue Exit, take Lafayette Avenue west to Compton Avenue, take Compton north to Market Street, then head west on Market to access I-64.

This route encounters the most stop signs of any route analyzed here (four), but the second least amount of traffic lights (three). It has the second shortest estimated travel time at 10.74 minutes (with no stop signs or traffic lights it would take 8.91 minutes to traverse). The route is 6.92 miles long.

13) Take I-44 west to the Grand Avenue Exit, take Lafayette Avenue to Grand, then take Grand north to I-64

This route has one stop sign and six stoplights. In addition, the left turn to access Westbound I-64 may be unsignalized, but the large volume of opposing traffic can add some more delay. I also have some doubts regarding congestion on this route; the nearby interchange with Forest Park Avenue seems prone to backing up traffic on Grand.

This route is 6.62 miles long and has an estimated time to traverse of 11.35 minutes.

14) Take I-44 west to the Vandeventer/Kingshighway Exit, take McRee Avenue west to Kingshighway, then proceed north on Kingshighway to I-64

Using the chosen parameters for stoplight delay, this is the quickest route at 10.15 minutes. However, since there does not seem to be a posted speed limit on McRee Avenue, the speed limit for this street was assumed to be the St. Louis City standard of 25 miles per hour, even though I recall a higher speed limit being posted in the past. This route is also the shortest route distance wise at 6.06 miles. This route has six stop lights, but I recall the light at Chouteau to be fairly long. In addition, this is the only route which involves an at-grade railroad crossing. Although this track is lightly used, one risks a long (maybe greater than five minutes) delay with this route.

15) Take I-44 west to Hampton, then take Hampton Avenue north to I-64.

This route has the second shortest distance at 6.24 miles. It has the third lowest time to traverse at 11.31 minutes (but if one gets all green lights, it has the shortest time to traverse at 7.3 minutes). There are eight stoplights on this route.

During the past year, as can be seen on Google’s satellite images of the area, Hampton experienced congestion from traffic accessing Forest Park. This could be a potential deal breaker for this route.

Conclusion

I've summarized the data into the following table. Base Time is how long the route would take without any stoplights or stop signs, while Adjusted Time 1 is how long the route would take assuming each stop sign adds 5 seconds and each stoplight adds 30 seconds.



(Edit 1-11-2011: Fixed the chart to correctly show the number of stop signs)

Now if someone absolutely had to have a route recommended to them, I would unfortunately have to recommend the I-44/Compton/Market option since it appears to be more reliable than either the Kingshighway or Hampton options. Can't say I'm thrilled with recommending this residential route, although East-West Gateway does show Compton classified as a minor artierial between Gravois and Martin Luther King Drive (see http://www.ewgateway.org/pdffiles/library/trans/funcclassapp/fc-StlCity.pdf). Remove the railroad crossing from McRee Avenue and I would happily recommend using Kingshighway. Guarantee that Hampton would not turn into a parking lot again on the next 70 degree day, and I would recommend that route.

In part 2, I will take a look at possible alternatives for further reducing travel times and improving reliability on some of the routes between Northbound I-55 and Westbound I-64.

South County Connector: Little Project, lot of hype

It seems this study is misunderstood by many. This is not a much needed southern extension of I-170, but more likely a four lane extension of River des Peres Boulevard northward with an I-44 (barring a different conclusion by the EIS team).

So far this study has a decent website:

http://www.southcountyconnector.com/index.html

Very few postings for next several months

Due to employment and issues with a lack of regular Internet access, this blog won't be seeing many new posts for most of the summer, if any.

Westbound Daniel Boone Bridge now faces demolition (someday)

Due to rising maintenance costs, MoDOT is now planning to demolish the westbound Daniel Boone Bride after a new eastbound bridge is constructed.

Historic Bridges of the United States has some good photos of the two Daniel Boone Bridges.

The replacement span will very likely be another dull, PSB clone. If funding wasn't an issue, I'd like a tied arch span there.

Sign work on I-55

Two minor sign related items to post about:

1) The speed limit sign on Southbound I-55 just south of Butler Hill Road has been changed back to one reading 65 mph.

2) MoDOT has been working on two of the overhead signs on the elevated section of NB I-55 between the PSB and I-44 for the last two evenings in a row.

More work on I-270 Chain of Rocks Bridges, commentary on the proposed replacement

IDOT begins more repairs on both the Chain of Rocks Canal Bridges and the main channel bridge on I-270 today.

Commentary/rants
It is because of the frequency of this work that IDOT is currently studying a replacement of the canal bridges. However, based on the presentation at the public meeting for the canal bridge replacement, the replacement will be partially obsolete as soon as it is built. There will only be four foot shoulders on the eastern end of the new bridge, and should I-270 ever get its much needed widening to six lanes between IL 111 and Lilac Avenue, there will be four foot shoulders for the whole bridge. The widened route may also have issues with the merge for IL 3 southbound traffic onto westbound I-270. If IDOT is going to undertake a total replacement for the canal bridges, they should build the new one right with a full right hand shoulder.

Bridge approach repairs on I-255 in Illinois

Repairs on bridge approaches on I-255 begin today in Illinois. The work is supposed to be complete by April 16th.

IDOT still has much more to fix on I-255. The pavement is getting extremely rough in some spots, most notably the southbound ramp to southbound/westbound I-55/70. Either an asphalt overlay needs to be done, or much more concrete patching.

April 9th Groundbreaking for New I-55 Lanes in Jefferson County

On April 9th, MoDOT will hold an official groundbreaking for adding one lane each way in the median of I-55 between Route M and Route Z.

Given the large amount of traffic that uses this route, even in the off-peak hours, this is a much needed improvement. Due to funding concerns, the extra lanes will not be going as far as ultimately planned - I-55 is supposed to stay four lanes each way down to the Herculaneum Exit.

Lincoln: 148th Street to get first traffic signal

Work will start near the end of the month for intersection improvements at 148th Street and US 34. These improvements include the first traffic signal for 148th.

To me, 148th Street is an effective bypass of eastern Lincoln, though it would be even more effective with an interchange at I-80. Getting across US 34 could be a pain, so this new signal is a welcome improvement.

MoDOT closes Adelaide Viaduct this Wednesday (March 17)

MoDOT will be closing the Adelaide Avenue Viaduct this Wednesday. The closure will allow for most of the bridge to be replaced.

As one can find on Google Streetview, the viaduct has had the outer lanes closed for a while.

For those using Hall Street as a route between I-270 and downtown, it may be just as easy to continue south and access I-70 via Grand Avenue.

Gas tax increase to finish Nebraska's expressway system?

The York News-Times has had a couple articles regarding a proposed five cent gas tax increase to finish the expressway system in Nebraska.

A map of the planned expressway system can be found on page 35/39 in Nebraska's 2006 highway needs assessment.

A rough map created to show an earlier, much more ambitious expressway/freeway plan for Nebraska can be found here.

Given the current rise in gas prices, I would not expect this to be popular with many voters. Furthermore, some of the projects should be reevaluated. Unlike Kansas, expressways in Nebraska are limited to 65 mph, the same as many two lane US routes are posted at in western Nebraska already. In addition, traffic on some of the routes is extremely low; parts of US 385 saw less than 2000 vehicles a day back in 2008. Conversion of US 385 to a shared four lane should be much cheaper.

Two comments on the 2006 Needs assessment as long as I've brought it up:

1) The expressway system map lacks the NE 50 expressway from south of I-80 to Springfield.

2) The plan lacks any mention adding interchanges to the US 281 Grand Island - Hastings expressway. Given the number of stoplights along the west side of Grand Island, and a lack of apparent coordination, this route is no longer 'express'. There is also a stoplight between I-80 and Hastings at Doniphan that should be replaced with an interchange. Of course, Nebraska has never been good with consistency on their expressways - witness the how US 77's expressway sections pass through Cortland, Princeton, and Ceresco instead of bypassing them.

(Disclaimer: I have no current affiliation with any Nebraska agency.)

Design changes for I-270 interchange with Page Avenue (MO 364/Route D)

MoDOT is announcing a major design change for the interchange between I-270 and Page Avenue (MO 364/Rte D). The NB I-270 to WB MO 364 ramp will be changed from a semi-direct flyover (like the ones at the I-255/I-270/I-55 cloverstack) to a more looping, turbine ramp with separate bridges for crossing the mainlines of Page Avenue and MO 364 like the NB I-465 to WB I-70 ramp on the west side of Indianapolis). The new design also changes access from WB Page to Bennington Place; instead of a braided design, traffic from WB Page will have to weave with traffic from SB I-270 desiring to access WB Page. The official site for the I-270 projects at Page and Dorset has a map showing the new deisgn while the older project site still has a map with the old design.

The new design for this interchange will lessen impacts on I-270 and Page Avenue in the short term - pier construction for the original flyover design would probably require closing the left lanes on both routes - and saves more than $1.4 million. Long term, however, I have concerns that the new design will repeat the weaving failures experienced on the WB I-44 ramp to I-270.

In addition, the future second phase project for this interchange has been changed. The original second phase was to add a flyover for the SB to EB movement. Now the future second phase will be adding a similar turbine ramp for the WB to SB movement. As seen in the animation MoDOT has posted, this design requires construction an underpass to get this ramp under MO 364. Such a design will require a temporary shoo-fly for MO 364 to enable this bridge to be constructed. Without more design information, it is my opinion that an overpass for the new ramp would be better. In addition, this new design is not weave free; EB MO 364 traffic wanting to access NB I-270 will have weave with SB I-270 traffic wanting access to EB Route D. This design is less safe, and may have congestion issues depending upon future volumes. Unless there is a hope to eventually remove another loop from this interchange (in a perfect world with more funding, I'd make this interchange loop free), the second phase should stick with replacing the SB to EB loop.

(Disclaimer for the heck of it: I have no current affiliation with MoDOT or anyone involved with this project.)

Various MoDOT Project Updates #1

* MoDOT will break ground on the MO 141 expansion/relocation between St. Luke's Hospital Road and MO 340/Olive Boulevard on March 15.

* On the same day, MoDOT will close the NB I-55 exit to Route M in Jefferson County as part of the widening project on I-55 between Route M and Route Z. While the official detour uses US 61-67 to the east, the west outer road (Metropolitan Boulevard) may be just as convenient.

* Lane closures begin today for the repaving and widening of I-44 between the Pacific Exit and the Washington Exit (the western MO 100 interchange). Since this project will have the usual narrow lanes crammed between jersey barrier driving, MO 30 may be a less stressful alternative. for through traffic. Alternatively, Business Loop 44/Old US 66 may be nicer for traffic that needs to stay close to the I-44 corridor near Pacific.

Business Loop 55 to be four laned between I-55 and US 61-67

MoDOT held a joint meeting today with Herculaneum to display preliminary plans to widen Business Loop 55 (McNutt Road) and build a new intersection with a relocated Scenic Drive

Aerial photo (5.57 MB pdf) showing the planned configuration of BL 55

Due to lack of funding, the bridges carrying I-55 will not be replaced for this project. Leaving the existing bridges necessitates dividing BL 55 under the interstate, similar to how Rte Z is divided under I-55 at Pevely. However, the through lanes will not be divided as on Rte Z, rather the through and left turn lanes will be divided.

It was mentioned at this meeting that this interchange will likely be reconfigured to a SPUI once MoDOT widens I-55 in this area.

The design of the relocated Scenic Drive is not set in stone yet; feedback from the meeting will determine if there will be a right in/right out with the existing road north of BL 55.

Other items of interest learned from this meeting:

* There will likely be traffic signals installed at the Rte Z/Metropolitan Road intersection in Pevely. There is talk of using a roundabout there instead of signals, but funding may be an issue.

* There was construction underway to extend Riverview Plaza Drive across Joachim Creek. I was told this was to provide a route that is still usable in event of a 100-year flood, and to be a new route for trucks to/from the lead smelter in the area.

The First Post

So I've decided to go ahead and start a blog instead of boring others with my opinions. This could be the start of a great blog, or one that dies after a few posts.

The main topics that I will be covering here will be various transportation news stories in Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, and maybe some from other states if they are interesting enough. Occasionally I will focus on a specific project or road and either praise it or flame it.

Since I find spell check to be one of the most useful computer features nowadays, there will probably be quite a bit of editing for this blog.