A Brief Look At Some Cancelled Freeways of St. Louis

While some might say St. Louis has a large freeway system, many cancellations have left the system incomplete. Here is a look at some of the routes that were not built, with a reference map here:
Link

MO 755/North-South Distributor

* Time of death: Early 1980's

* Important Contributions: Would have provided for the missing movements at the west end of the PSB, plus a bypass of the depressed section of I-70

* Estimated Lane Miles: 21.98 - Assuming eight lanes between I-44 and I-64 (two lanes from I-55 plus two lanes from I-44) and six lanes between I-64 and I-70)

* Downgraded Form: The Truman and currently unbuilt 22nd Street Parkways.

I-170 Southern Extension

* Time of death: Most recently in 1997, however had died a few times prior to that year.

* Important Contributions: Quick access from South County to Clayton, possible relief for many of the current cut through streets such as Elm Avenue in Webster Groves (though congestion on the extension could have been a problem)

* Estimated Lane Miles: 46.98 - Assuming six lanes on the 1997 railroad alternative, including the stub from I-55 to MO 267

* Downgraded Form: Likely the South County Connector/River Des Peres extension

Cole Expressway

* Time of Death - 1972 for the section from I-170 to MO 755; the section between MO 755 and I-70 seems to have died first, while the I-170 to I-270 section seems to have held on a little longer.

* Estimated Lane Miles: 56.36 if four lanes, 84.54 if six lanes

* Possible Revival: The section between Craig Road and US 67 may yet be upgraded from a signalized expressway to a freeway

Midtown or Kingshighway Freeway

* Time of Death - 1971 in the St. Louis Transportation Study by East-West Gateway

* Important Contributions - The I-70 to I-270 section would have provided easy access to MO 367 and Alton from the south

* Estimated Lane Miles: 66.2 if four lanes, 99.3 if six lanes

Illinois 3 Freeway (FAP 410)
(Only considering the PSB Complex to I-255 section here; the actual FAP 410 route was to merge with I-255 until the IL 3 interchange at Columbia, then head towards I-57 north of Marion)

* Time of Death - Seems to have been in the 1980's.

* Estimated Lane Miles: 24.96 if four lanes

US 460/IL 15 Freeway (FAP 414)

* Time of Death - Seems to have been in the early 1980's.

* Estimated Lane Miles - Around 14 assuming four lanes

* Downgraded Form - Possible new surface arterial.

US 67 Freeway

* Time of Death - Upgrading US 67 between the Lewis Bridge and Clark Bridge appears to have been dropped in the late 1990's.

* Estimated Lane Miles - 13.96

So St. Louis area at least another 244.44 lane miles that were never built.

New lanes opening on I-55 in Jefferson County

By this time I-55 between Route M and Route Z - or just north of the bridge over the BNSF track just north of Route Z for northbound traffic - in Jefferson County should be six lanes wide.

Link to MoDOT press release

This much needed improvement is only a start; there are still 16 miles that need at least one more lane each way between Route Z and the cloverleaf with US 67.

MoDOT to reorganize

MoDOT has recently decided to go from 10 districts to 7. Counties in District 2 (Macon), District 7 (Joplin), and District 9 (Willow Springs) will be given to neighboring districts. In addition, some of the areas covered by area engineers will be increased with some area engineers being eliminated.

http://www.modot.mo.gov/bolderfiveyeardirection/