Alright, I got a chance to attend the open house last night, and things are moving along. Not as fast as some of us would like, but moving along. I'll try to briefly describe what is on the table at this point.
The project will be divided into 5 segments, for traffic management and construction purposes:
- Segment 1 - I-80 in Nebraska, including 13th Street interchange and expansion of the Mo. Riv. bridge;
Segment 2 - I-80/I-29 from Indian Creek west to Mo. Riv on I-80 and north to UPRR overpass on I-29, including west spaghetti bowl, 24th St. interchange, Neb. Ave interchange and the RR overpass;
Segment 3 - I-80/I-29 from Indian Creek east to Madison Ave on I-80 and south to U.S. 275 on I-29, including east spaghetti bowl, South Expressway interchange, U.S. 275 interchange, and Madison Ave. interchange;
Segment 4 - I-29 north of UPRR overpass to 35th St interchange, including I-29/I-480/West Broadway interchange and 9th Ave interchange;
Segment 5 - I-80 north from Madison Ave. to Kanesville Blvd., including Kanesville Blvd. interchange.
Engineering and environmental studies are ongoing for Segments 1-3, while Segments 4 and 5 will begin later.
A little more detail on the first 3 segments (one of the IDOT reps I spoke with thought it would be 15 years at the
earliest before funding would be available for Segments 4 and 5, so they aren't looking at those too closely, although they do have conceptual designs in hand, so if you're interested in seeing development along those 2 segments, get on the horn with your Congressman and hopefully speed up more $$$ for those).
Segment 1: would include 4 lanes in each direction from I-480/Kennedy interchange to Mo. Riv. bridge. Existing Mo. Riv. bridge would become bridge for eastbound, while a new bridge would be built just to the north for westbound lanes. I'm guessing, but I believe this alignment would bring westbound traffic closer to the new locomotives on the hill and require a pretty massive retaining wall, but might improve sightlines to see the locomotives as you're travelling.
Segment 2: would include dual divided freeway (east of the spaghetti bowl) with 3 lanes each way for "express" traffic and another 3 lanes each way for "local" traffic, reconstruction of the 24th St. interchange. The 24th St. design would be similar to the existing interchange, although one design would pull the ramps closer in to the interstate, which would improve distance between interstate access point and the nearest interchange on either side of the interstate. One design would reconstruct the Nebraska Ave interchange, while the other design would eliminate the Nebraska Ave interchange and replace it with a new interchange at 23rd Ave, which would provide a much more direct route to the Mid-America Center/Bass Pro Shops area. This would also increase distance between the 9th Ave. on-ramp and the existing Neb. Ave. off-ramp along southbound I-29, which can currently be a problem with inter-casino traffic. The spaghetti bowl would include up to 4 levels of ramps, so you're talking something on the order of 50-60 feet up in the air.
Segment 3: would continue the dual divided freeway to the east spaghetti bowl, with interchange reconstructs at South Expressway, Madison Ave, and US 275. Key with the Madison Ave reconstruct would be pulling the freeway and ramps further away from Mall of the Bluffs, which would supposedly (I'm guessing) lead to a better perimeter road around that side of the mall and allow JC Penney to expand and still retain same number of parking stalls (but don't quote me on that). Key with the US 275 reconstruct would be providing access in all directions coming off I-29 (which is lacking now, although a recent DOT project helped somewhat), as well as tie into the scheduled reconstruct of US 275 to 4 lanes from I-29 to the Mo. Riv. South Expressway interchange wouldn't change much, except for a slightly larger footprint on the north side. Two designs for the spaghetti bowl - one would be basically on top of the existing footprint, the other would shift the footprint north and slightly east, which would provide a little more room for development east of the existing Power Center development.
(I went to school in Iowa - I earned the right to poke fun!) Left exits, left entries, not enough lanes, bad drivers, poor signage, short merges... etc etc etc... I would've appreciated this driving to school all those times...
). Simplified/concentrated interchanges are much more valuable -we are developing a huge project on a new interchange (the first in 20 years) on the Capitol Beltway and tenants are excited because of the visibility and accessibility. The Omaha and CB areas are too different to compare - but in Omaha look at all the complaining over the Cuming and Burt Street access issues to the North Freeway (which they are now correcting with access in both directions from Cuming. Anyway, the design for the future interstate CB improvements will simplify the access at that majot intersection and the city is looking to attract some commercial development around it.
Any chance you could elaborate on "spaghetti bowl" and go with something more, excuse the pun, concrete like you did in Segment 1 with 480/Kennedy?