You see, MoDOT must have found out that I moved or something. When I first came here they decided to renovate the I-435 bridge over the Missouri River because they knew that's how I got to work. And, being the rockstar that I am, I suppose they wanted to make my commute super nice. However, they made it really annoying for quite a while during the construction phase of the project. But, sure enough, my commute was pretty great after they were done.
Well, since I moved, I don't use I-435 anymore. MoDOT must have found out. And so... being the rockstar that I am, I suppose they want to make my commute super nice... again. Project completion is set for summer of 2011. This is a much bigger project... And will be annoying for a much longer time. (Like a good three years.)
Plans are to widen the road to six lanes, build a new cable-stayed bridge (expandable to eight lanes and capable of accommodating a future bicycle/pedestrian facility) just east of the existing Paseo Bridge, and then tear down the Paseo. Apparently, it's going to look something like this:
I'm thrilled that this is happening. It really needs to because the roads just can't handle the traffic volume. I'm in traffic every morning for a very short amount of time. You see, traffic backs up long before I get on I-35, but I enter the road at the busiest spot: at I-35 and Armour 210. (Mostly to avoid the traffic beforehand.)
This is the first interchange they're going to reconstruct. My entrance ramp is closing on May 12 and won't open again until late summer. (The off ramp to 210 from 35 is staying closed for a full 12 months.) They have an alternate route set up, however, I think that the traffic will be horrible there and it may be impossible to merge onto I-35. We'll see. Oh, also, they're adding ANOTHER light on 210 for all of this. As if there weren't already enough lights on 210 right there. There's three in a row!
I might start driving down Route 9 into the city and getting on 71 south from there, although there's a ton of construction downtown right now, too. And they're offering that up as an alternate route, along with Antioch and Prather, which I currently use. So, no matter which way we slice it, Nikki's commute is going to be hell for the next three years. Hooray! Those MoDOT people should be really happy to know they're doing such a good job.
I guess I could always try getting on 35 right at Antioch and seeing what happens...
But really, what this all boils down to is that I'm going to have to start leaving my house before 7:30am. For three years. Which means getting up earlier. For over three years. Probably starting April 21st.
Siiiiiiiigh. It's hard enough already! This better be the coolest bridge, ever, when it's finished. And make my commute less than 20 minutes. At any time of the day. And it should change the speed limit to 65 mph.
And increase the resale value of my home.
Where IS my flying Jetsons car, anyway?
End Blog.
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