Official: West Dodge Expressway

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Brad
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Post by Brad »

West Dodge Expressway gets national honor

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2 ... d=10388588
TOM SHAW WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER wrote:The West Dodge Expressway has received a national transportation award for being completed a year ahead of schedule.

The expressway was finished in the summer of 2007. By finishing the $100 million project early, it's estimated that $17 million worth of driver productivity, gas and other costs were saved because of the improved traffic flow, according to the Nebraska Roads Department.
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Brad
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Post by Brad »

The "Ghetto maker" as some of you have called it, about became the "Widow maker" this morning.  Where the interstate lanes merge and then split on to the two west bound ramps, an 18" to 24" boulder fell out of a truck and rolled down in to the middle of the 3 lanes.  Can you imagine what a 2' diameter boulder would do to a car at 45+MPH???
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Brad wrote:The "Ghetto maker" as some of you have called it, about became the "Widow maker" this morning.  Where the interstate lanes merge and then split on to the two west bound ramps, an 18" to 24" boulder fell out of a truck and rolled down in to the middle of the 3 lanes.  Can you imagine what a 2' diameter boulder would do to a car at 45+MPH???
or in this case, more like 70 mph :)  I think it'd look like when the thing smashed the semi on fantastic four
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Brad
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Post by Brad »

This bridge is turning in to a bigger eyesore day by day...

Don't get me wrong, it has helped my commute to work about 500%  But it gets uglier by the day.  The weeds are getting worse, not only in the islands, but in the cracks and everywhere else they can grow.  The decorative concrete is settling leaving gaps and now the paint is chipping off.  If I pained something I would expect it to last more than 12 to 18 months.
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Post by DTO Luv »

If it goes on that long you should see a doctor. Where is grammar cow? :)
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Post by windsor »

I can not picture the renderings this far out, but I thought I remember rocks, trees, and the works.
where the corn meets the concrete
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Post by StreetsOfOmaha »

Yeah, I'm HUGELY disappointed with the "finished" product compared to the renderings showing all the great landscaping and design features.  I'm sure a lot of it is stuff the city is supposed to be upkeeping/maintaining and they're just not.
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Post by OmahaJaysCU »

StreetsOfOmaha wrote:Yeah, I'm HUGELY disappointed with the "finished" product compared to the renderings showing all the great landscaping and design features.  I'm sure a lot of it is stuff the city is supposed to be upkeeping/maintaining and they're just not.
Are the weeds underneath for sure the "finished" landscaping project?  I was kind of hoping that they were just going to wait until next spring to do it, bc it would make more sense planting wise...
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Post by StreetsOfOmaha »

Right, but the project has been "finished" for well over a year.
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Post by Brad »

Last fall they dug hundreds of holes all over between 125th street and I68 for trees.  Hundreds!

Well today they finally started planting trees.
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Post by Brad »

They have dug up all the grass (weeds) in the middle of the lower road, looks like they will finally begin to landscape.
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Post by windsor »

The new landscaping is looking great.  I hope it looks good next spring after 50,000 cars a day spray wither sludge on it.
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Post by windsor »

All the trees the planted are blooming right now, quite an impressive site for a roadway landscape project.
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Post by Brad »

It looks like they finally removed the weeds and planted some native grasses on the ends of the islands.  Its about time.  Those islands looked bad most of the summer!

Also, I nominate the "NO U-TURN" sign at 114th and Dodge for most ignored sign in town!
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Re: Official: West Dodge Expressway

Post by Brad »

So my wife and I are in between houses in the moment. We are temporarily living wayyyyyyy out west on 194th. I can't not believe how terrible the West Dodge Expressway is every single morning. I have tried adjusting my commute anywhere from 7:00am to 8:30am and it still sucks every day! The only time its good is if I leave the house before 7am.

Every morning its backed up bumper to bumper starting west of 180th street. Then its a 10-15mph crawl to Boystown and then starts to pick up speed at 132nd street. Its horrible!

I can't wait to get back east! I got really spoiled living in midtown.
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Re: Official: West Dodge Expressway

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I blame it on the Boys Town exit. It backs up both ways at that location. I think they just need to take that full interchange out. You can get to Boys Town from 132nd, 144th, and Pacific. And the business parks have good access off of 132nd and 144th.
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Re: Official: West Dodge Expressway

Post by guitarguy »

Wonder how feasible that would be since the 137th St Exit leads right into the main drive through BT. Going from 132nd or 144th is significantly more time consuming weaving the way towards the main drive. This unfortunately is what tends to happen when you build up the area around a main artery to this level.. also doesn't help that Dodge St is the only quick moving street in the area.
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Re: Official: West Dodge Expressway

Post by joleo »

They just need to add stop lights (ramp metering) on the ramps and it would 100% fix the problem...just like Minneapolis and Denver. Here in Des Moines, I know they have been looking at installing them. Word on the street is they are going to install them on I-235 here in the next few years. When the ramps back up, it forces people to use other streets like pacific and blondo for shorter trips and only the people making longer trips wait for the ramps. When I lived in Denver, I had a long commute and it wasn't unusual for me to wait 10 minutes at the ramp meter to get on the freeway. (I-225).

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Re: Official: West Dodge Expressway

Post by EastCB »

Yes, ramp lights would help. They work well in Minneapolis and Seattle.
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Re: Official: West Dodge Expressway

Post by iamjacobm »

Brad wrote:So my wife and I are in between houses in the moment.  We are temporarily living wayyyyyyy out west on 194th.  I can't not believe how terrible the West Dodge Expressway is every single morning.  I have tried adjusting my commute anywhere from 7:00am to 8:30am and it still sucks every day!  The only time its good is if I leave the house before 7am.

Every morning its backed up bumper to bumper starting west of 180th street.  Then its a 10-15mph crawl to Boystown and then starts to pick up speed at 132nd street.  Its horrible!

I can't wait to get back east!  I got really spoiled living in midtown.
Brad I was going to say the exact same thing except I am reverse commuting the last few weeks going west to Elkhorn from my house. I was astonished to see Dodge 3 cars wide all the way out to 180th at 730. I used to drive east from 156th five years ago and 156th-144th would be when all three lanes really started to get congested.

Just crazy to see the difference when you never see that kind of commute for 5 years. Imagine in another 5 years it could easily be full out to 204th...
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Re: Official: West Dodge Expressway

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HR Paperstacks wrote:I blame it on the Boys Town exit. It backs up both ways at that location. I think they just need to take that full interchange out. You can get to Boys Town from 132nd, 144th, and Pacific. And the business parks have good access off of 132nd and 144th.
I was looking at it again this morning. While it is near the boys town exit, I think part of the problem is the number of cars getting on the ramp at 144th which are tying to merge near the boystown ramp. If they removed the exit ramp at boystown and then extend the 144th entrance ramp a ways, It may help. Even if they did that, I think they could keep the other three ramps. Its a nice exit, It would be nice if they could keep it and somehow figure out how to extend the 144th street ramp too, but I am guessing a situation like 150th street would work better.
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Re: Official: West Dodge Expressway

Post by Stargazer »

Image

I said once before... I think Omaha is ready for metered ramps... I think it would go a LONG ways towards helping the problem on West Dodge. The problem is everyone trying to get on at the same time, when the lights change at 180th, 168th, 156th, 144th.
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Re: Official: West Dodge Expressway

Post by MTO »

I think the engineers designed a metering (sort of) into the freeway system. Before merging many times a lane will end limiting the amount of traffic that can get through. I know it's not fancy but it is clever.
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Re: Official: West Dodge Expressway

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So weird... after i got on here and cried about my commute to all of you, I have actually had THREE good drives in! Not sure where all the traffic went but its been non stop Thursday, Friday and Today. I have left the house right about 8 all three days.
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Re: Official: West Dodge Expressway

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Brad wrote:So weird... after i got on here and cried about my commute to all of you, I have actually had THREE good drives in!  Not sure where all the traffic went but its been non stop Thursday, Friday and Today.  I have left the house right about 8 all three days.
Maybe those dang phantoms that cause all those mysterious traffic jams have started taking different routes ;)
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Re: Official: West Dodge Expressway

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Notice that an "expressway" is only as good as it's participants merging techniques and courtesy. At 144th and 156th eastbound it is at its worst. First off, merging traffic rarely is at it optimum speed of 55 mph, more like 40, and when they finally can merge they slow everything down. At least at 168th, you get enough ramp speed there is a better process. Some people are complete idiots or asshats though in terms of merging, or allowing people in, which is what causes the expressway turn into a parking lot.

:rant:
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Re: Official: West Dodge Expressway

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Coyote wrote:Notice that an "expressway" is only as good as it's participants merging techniques and courtesy. At 144th and 156th eastbound it is at its worst. First off, merging traffic rarely is at it optimum speed of 55 mph, more like 40, and when they finally can merge they slow everything down. At least at 168th, you get enough ramp speed there is a better process. Some people are complete idiots or asshats though in terms of merging, or allowing people in, which is what causes the expressway turn into a parking lot.

:rant:
Additionally, you have people who try to race up a merging lane or a lane that is about to end in order to beat other drivers. And when they try to get over, some poor schmuck has to slow down to let them over, which god forbid their dickish behavior lets them become stranded. This in turn slows down everyone behind them. I see this primarily on I-680N where that one lane ends just after the interchange.
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Re: Official: West Dodge Expressway

Post by Stargazer »

Thank you for your email and suggestions. We are currently studying the usage of ramp meters on W. Dodge Rd (US-6). For your information, we utilized ramp meters in the early 1990’s on I-80 in Omaha and the Omaha commuters rebelled. However, the commuters may be more receptive this time around due to the delays on US-6.
.
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Timothy W. Weander, P.E.
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I must have totally missed the meters in the early 90's... don't recall them at all.
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Re: Official: West Dodge Expressway

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Meters in Omaha on I-80 ramps? I don't remember that either.
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Re: Official: West Dodge Expressway

Post by nativeomahan »

Meters existed for a few years on 680 at Pacific and Center Streets, and also on 480 at Leavenworth,
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Re: Official: West Dodge Expressway

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nativeomahan wrote:Meters existed for a few years on 680 at Pacific and Center Streets, and also on 480 at Leavenworth,
I now remember the one on Pacific, totally forgot about that.
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Re: Official: West Dodge Expressway

Post by Brad »

FINALLY! My last commute on the West Dodge Expressway toady! I am not going to miss it!!!

Dead Stopped at 180th street:
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Re: Official: West Dodge Expressway

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Someone send this to author of that Washington Post article.
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Re: Official: West Dodge Expressway

Post by guy4omaha »

I never have a problem with W Dodge Expressway traffic. Smooth sailing at 7 am. Just another example of the early bird gets the worm. 8)
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Re: Official: West Dodge Expressway

Post by iamjacobm »

I was driving east on Dodge at 5:30 and it was stop and go there, the radio cut to a traffic report and they said West Dodge was backed up to 156th. That is a LONG ways to be stop and go traffic. I never am west of Saddle Creek during rush hour so I guess I am just ignorant about how much traffic has been added the last few years.
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Re: Official: West Dodge Expressway

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iamjacobm wrote:I was driving east on Dodge at 5:30 and it was stop and go there, the radio cut to a traffic report and they said West Dodge was backed up to 156th. That is a LONG ways to be stop and go traffic. I never am west of Saddle Creek during rush hour so I guess I am just ignorant about how much traffic has been added the last few years.
Probably going to be that way for a while. The construction at 168th is supposed to last until Halloween.
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Re: Official: West Dodge Expressway

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iamjacobm wrote:I was driving east on Dodge at 5:30 and it was stop and go there, the radio cut to a traffic report and they said West Dodge was backed up to 156th. That is a LONG ways to be stop and go traffic. I never am west of Saddle Creek during rush hour so I guess I am just ignorant about how much traffic has been added the last few years.
LOL. That's all? I drive Dodge everyday. I work off 144th & Center, and live off 192nd & Maple. My partner works in Aksarben Village. Traffic is usually backed up to 132nd street and crawls until you get past 168th street off-ramp. The reason for the delay, as I have seen day in and day out is that the off ramp traffic on 156th street (going north (backed up) - only 1 lane, but 2 lanes going south) runs onto dodge. The same goes for 168th Street.

Traffic would not back-up onto Dodge at 156th street if they had 2 turning lanes going north and 1 going south, as MOST of the traffic heads north.

I was hoping the construction on the bridge before 168th was to widen the bridge to add an exit lane as all other off and on-ramps from 132nd to 156th have this (the 4th lane as I call it). I'm very disappointed its not. Its only to fix the huge hump before and after the bridge that makes the car almost go airborne.
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Re: Official: West Dodge Expressway

Post by BRoss »

I was hoping they'd add an auxiliary lane between 156th and 168th also. Seems like a good opportunity since they are already doing bridge work.
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Re: Official: West Dodge Expressway

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iamjacobm wrote:I was driving east on Dodge at 5:30 and it was stop and go there, the radio cut to a traffic report and they said West Dodge was backed up to 156th. That is a LONG ways to be stop and go traffic. I never am west of Saddle Creek during rush hour so I guess I am just ignorant about how much traffic has been added the last few years.
Yeah, on the rare occasion I find myself in a car west of 72nd during commuting hours, I realize how much sitting in traffic sucks.
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Re: Official: West Dodge Expressway

Post by RNcyanide »

Twelve hour shifts means I can avoid all the horrible traffic snarls on Dodge.
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