Showing posts with label Kansas City Road Construction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kansas City Road Construction. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Kansas City's US Highway 71 Officially Becomes A Part Of New Interstate 49

Today marks the official transition from US Highway 71 to Interstate 49, a new roadway that will run from the Canadian border all the way to New Orleans. The 180 mile stretch of US 71 from Kansas City to Joplin, MO has been officially improved to interstate standards, including upgrades to the road and interchanges.

Once completed, the northern portion of I-49 will end at the ramp to I-435 and I-470 in Kansas City. This split will give drivers heading north two options:  either taking I-29 which ends in Manitoba, Canada, or I-35, which ends in Duluth, Minnesota. The southern part of I-49 will end in New Orleans at the Gulf of Mexico.

Progress on the road has been slower in Arkansas and Louisiana, although Louisiana’s portion of I-49 could be completed within the next year. Arkansas’ portion of the highway is mostly new construction, with a $2 billion estimated cost to complete a road between I-30 and I-40. Funding has been a major issue in Arkansas for new roads, which has been the primary cause for delay.

Missouri’s cost for the project was an estimated $400 million, much lower than Arkansas’ cost due to US 71 was already a four-lane highway. Most of the construction done including removing at-grade intersections by building new interchanges.

I-49 is expected to give the country’s economy a boost by significantly improving transportation around the Midwest. The planned route will intersect with nine existing interstates running from east-to-west, creating a transportation grid that will improve the movement of both goods and people.

KCMB Kansas City News, official kc news site with breaking stories on The Kansas City Royals, Chiefs, charity events, the 2012 MLB All Star Game, weather, sports, MU, KU, ufo sightings, dui checkpoints, Kansas City neighborhoods, nightlife, concerts, the Sprint Center, the Power and Light District and current Kansas City news articles.

Monday, October 1, 2012

Suspect Arrested For Johnson County Hit And Run Accident That Killed Victim

Over the weekend, Christopher P. Randolph Sr. was killed in a hit and run accident along I-35 in Johnson County. This morning, Kansas City police have announced that they have arrested and jailed a suspect in this case. Randolph was 41 years old and leaves behind six children as well as six siblings.

The accident occurred at 2:30 a.m. Saturday morning, when Randolph was putting gas into his minivan in a construction zone off I-35, just north of College Boulevard in Johnson Country. Randolph’s girlfriend, Charlsetta Redd, told police a car knocked over Redd, which led to other vehicles striking him as well. The suspect sped off in a 2010 silver Chevrolet Silverado pickup.

After fleeing the scene, the driver of the pickup abandoned the vehicle. It was later found nearby with heavy front end damage.

Randolph’s minivan had run out of gas, which forced him to exit his vehicle along the highway before the incident occurred. What is sad is that the cars along the highway refused to stop, despite repeatedly hitting Randolph. According to Redd, the final car dragged Randolph down the road while refusing to slow down.

If past convictions are any indication, the driver of this vehicle will likely be in prison for a very long time. It is one thing to convict manslaughter and kill another person, but the driver of the vehicle sped away and did not take any consequence for his actions. Many suspect the driver of the pickup truck was likely drunk, given that this occurred early in the morning over the weekend and the refusal to pull over. If the driver was not intoxicated, their stupidity will likely cost them years in prison, as they could have stopped and been forgiven for an “accident.”

Sadly, the roads of the Kansas City metro have become incredibly dangerous any time after 11:00 p.m. on a weekend night. When people complain about DUI checkpoints being set up on the weekend, they need to keep stories like this in mind. Why people can't pay $15 for a cab ride is beyond me - it certainly is cheaper than losing your license, paying thousands of dollars in fines and spending years in prison.

Kansas City News, official kc news site with breaking stories on The Kansas City Royals, Chiefs, charity events, the 2012 MLB All Star Game, weather, sports, MU, KU, ufo sightings, dui checkpoints, Kansas City neighborhoods, nightlife, concerts, the Sprint Center, the Power and Light District and current Kansas City news articles.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Kansas City Police Announce Sobriety Checkpoints For This Weekend

Checkpoints Kansas City - DUI - Sept 24th 25th

When going out on the town this weekend, make sure you save some cash for a cab or strap on some comfortable walking shoes. Driving may be a bad idea, given that the Kansas City Police Department has announced it will be conducting several sobriety checkpoints all weekend long in the Kansas City metro area.

The police are not releasing the times and locations of the checkpoints, however given that 80% of Kansas City roads are closed as usual due to construction, it may be hard to avoid the checkpoints when entering and leaving the downtown area. The police did mention that the checkpoints will occur at areas known for having DUI related crashes or arrests. Signs will be placed in advance of the checkpoints.

Kansas City Police have been able to make several arrests every time checkpoints are set up, however drunken driving arrests have decreased since the police started announcing the sobriety checkpoints in advance. Hopefully this warning scares more people into finding an alternative way home when they have been drinking.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Three Trails Crossing Bridge Reopens This Morning

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The Three Trails Crossing Ramp repair has been completed. On July 17th, the approach to a bridge connecting I-470 west to I-435 West collapsed. The Collapse was caused by excessive rain that deteriorated the soil beneath the roadway. This left a huge gap of collapsed road leading to the bridge. Thankfully there were no accidents or injuries caused.

For the last several weeks, drivers from the southern suburbs in Missouri have been subjected to a complicated series of detours that have added many minutes to morning commutes. Engineers and geologists have been studying the collapse and have no definitive answers about a cause.

A 225 foot long bridge extensin was constructed to connect the undamaged roadway to the existing collector bridge to I-435. The project was completed 19 days early and cost 5.2 Million dollars. That figure includes a bonus for finishing early. Maybe the Kansas City Water Department should study this project to improve their efficiency! The phrase "completed early" worries me a little since I have to travel over the repair daily.


Tuesday, August 24, 2010

More Construction on the Way for Kansas City


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Drivers will be provided with an alternate route southbound I-635 towards Parrallel Parkway and then be forced to turn around and head northbound I-635 to eastbound Kansas 5 (yes it as confusing as it sounds).
As a native of central Illinois, I can applaud Kansas City for taking a proactive stance on its roads to prevent the car-ruining potholes that plague the area I grew up in. However, there is a fine line between maintaining good roads and keeping a city under construction for a decade. Take my daily commute for example: I deal with construction on 69 South from the 135th exit until the highway merges with I-35 every day commuting to work, and face slow delays due to construction on any other highway I may take around Kansas City. Normally I wouldn't have a problem with this, except we have been dealing with this for five years.
Perhaps the funding for repaving our roads every single year could be better allocated, or perhaps construction crews simply are not working fast enough. Despite the reasons, I am one Kansas City resident sick of road construction. Although maybe I deal with it another five strait years I will get used to it.

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