St. Charles County dignitaries gathered on Friday to mark the county’s first “diverging diamond” interchange at Interstate 70 and Mid Rivers Mall Drive.
The $12.4 million interchange project is expected to move more traffic through the front door to a major shopping district just in time for the holidays.
The St. Louis region’s first diverging diamond interchange opened in 2010 at Interstate 270 and Dorsett Road in Maryland Heights. Motorists driving through these interchanges shift to the left side of the road just before cars pull into the highway on-ramp, so drivers don’t cross opposing traffic while making that left.
St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlmann said Friday that seeing cars passing in the opposite direction to the right makes a driver think, albeit momentarily, that he could just as easily be driving in the United Kingdom.
People are also reading…
Although the new I-70 interchange at Mid Rivers is similar to the Dorsett interchange, it differs in that Mid Rivers will carry traffic over the highway instead of beneath it. MoDOT traffic engineers say these interchanges work well in locations where there is heavy traffic.
“This interchange will have a tremendous impact on traffic, and it’s opening just in time for holiday shoppers,” Ehlmann said.
Although the interchange opened ahead of schedule, MoDOT officials spent part of the morning Friday thanking St. Charles County leaders, drivers and merchants for their patience while the critical link was being rebuilt.
If you can’t get out that way, you can always take a virtual drive on YouTube.
MoDOT: NEEDS EXCEED FUNDS
During last week’s meeting of the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission, MoDOT chief Dave Nichols warned that the state’s most pressing highway spending needs will go unmet unless something changes.
Nichols presented Missouri’s long-range transportation plan and told commissioners that while the public wants more from its transportation system, there just aren’t enough dollars to fulfill all of Missouri’s wishes.
You may remember reading here about MoDOT’s statewide listening tour, which they called “On the Move.” Through the series of meetings, transportation officials wanted residents to share their vision for transportation by asking them what kinds of highway projects should be funded.
“We received more than 12,000 project suggestions from the public,” Nichols said.
The trouble is that the price tag for all those things would be in excess of the $17 billion MoDOT expects to have available to spend over the next two decades, Nichols said. For several years, MoDOT’s yearly construction budget hovered around $1.2 billion. That number now stands at about $700 million a year and is expected to recede even further, to $425 million, by 2019, officials say.
Greg Horn, MoDOT’s acting district engineer in St. Louis, echoed that message a day later during a public appearance on Friday.
Horn said those who participated in the “On the Move” initiative voiced goals that fall into four categories: taking care of the system that is already in place; keeping travelers safe; economic development and job creation; and beefing up transportation choices.
HOLIDAY AIR TRAVEL UP
Domestic airlines are expected to log about 25 million passengers during the Thanksgiving holiday travel season, according to the Washington-based Airlines for America industry group.
The passenger projections for the 12-day period from Friday, Nov. 22, to Tuesday, Dec. 3, reflect a 1.5 percent increase over the same period in 2012.
John Heimlich, vice president and chief economist at Airlines for America, said carriers are adding more seats to accommodate the heightened holiday demand.
“The good news for customers is that air travel costs less in real dollars today than in 2000,” Heimlich said in a prepared statement. “Airlines are delivering strong on-time and baggage performance.”
Meantime, the trade organization offers the following tips to make your holiday air travel go more smoothly:
- While making your reservation, be prepared to give your full name as it appears on your government-issued identification. Airlines can’t take your reservation without certain basic information.
- Register with your airline, if possible, for automated travel notifications to your cellphone or wireless device.
- When packing, make sure you are familiar with the Transportation Security Administration’s prohibited items lists and its 3-1-1 rule for gels, aerosols and liquids packed in carry-ons.
- Just before you leave for the airport, it is a good idea to check one more time on the status of your flight.
Ken Leiser is the transportation writer at the Post-Dispatch. Read his Along for the Ride column online and every Sunday in the newspaper.
