I-49
 

OK, so the same road gets renamed from 71 to 49 and everybody's happy, I get it.. But they're leaving-out the Bruce R. Watkins Drive portion, "it stays the same." What does that mean? It stays 71? The state gets to keep paying 100% of it? They won't get rid of the GD dumbass lights that serve no purpose other than to slow progress and piss people off??!! WTF for?

It is not a federal highway once it pasts Bannister. If it would those stoplights would have been gone and they would have built overpasses, they should anyway.

Did you read the article? This has been a long time coming. The "dumbass lights" are there to accommodate the local residents. Some of the folks along the Bruce Watkins Drive were booted off of their land, out of their homes, twenty+ years ago. They were compensated pennies/dollar what their properties would have been worth in todays $. All the community asked for was reasonable access to the highway that divided their neighborhoods. Besides, I-49 is meant to be a link between the South and the new Gardener Hub. Linking that to the North (Canada) is easy via I-435/I-29.

I-49? I haven't lived in KC since '06 so I'm out of the loop.

You could have lived here until yesterday and been out of the loop. They just changed 71 Hwy to I-49 officially 12/12.

They were billing it as a highway that was going to stretch from New Orleans to Canada, so why'd they pick that one part to not make a highway? It seems like a lot of it, heck almost all of it, wasn't a federal highway before this effort (no matter how long it's been in the making), I was just hoping for the people of KC that they could fix that one part of it and get rid of the lights.

How could it possibly be an Interstate if there are still traffic lights?

I think over/under passes and on ramps are plenty reasonable in terms of access. As for being displaced, it's never fun, but it's rare that they essentially leave the road as inefficient as they're leaving it simply because of that. As for pennies on the dollar, I think 20 years should always make a difference. In this case, if you're saying that while so many people are having a hard time selling homes, perhaps the vitality of that corridor has as much to do with the traffic that the new BRW Drive has brought as anything else. It's a double-edged sword to say the least. Look how many businesses and towns are just giddy about it... I'll admit I get the concept, but sometimes I think that it's a bit overplayed - like the $100M trolleys..

I agree, I guess that too is part of my confusion. All I know is I'd love to see them replaced with on/off-ramps...

According to Wikipedia there is a court order preventing them to change it.

Stupid.

I was living there when they were building that stretch, and it didn't make sense to me then that they weren't constructing overpasses for local traffic.

Its the Hood and todays housing market stinks.

There is that, but I've actually heard of said "court order" because I wanted a light added to 50 highway in Lee's Summit for buses taking kids to school and was told you can't add them to highways. I brought up those along that part of 71, and the MO traffic engineer I was talking to just laughed and said that it was Emanuel Cleaver "deal" to help vitalize that small part of the road. It didn't hold true north of Brush Creek...

Interesting..

Elevated "express" lane right over the existing portion of 71 from just south of Gregory to just north of 55th or wherever that last stop light is. Turn the existing portion into an outer road of sorts. Problem solved, everyone keeps their homes in tact and I no longer shit my pants when I get that dreaded yellow light
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What, you don't stop there weekly to fill-up on gas and eat?

I frequent the gas station off Gregory at least a couple times a year. The pants shitting comes from slamming on my brakes and hoping I don't get rear ended by a god damn trash truck.
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I just don't use it anymore unless I'm going to the Plaza... As usual, Cleaver found a way to make something that was seemingly good closer to useless.. He showed us!

Watkins....worst highway ever.

It is curious how MoDot is in the process of eliminating the two at-grade intersections on US-169 between Barry Road and Smithville, but defends them on US-71. US-169 probably sees about half the traffic in a day as US-71.

I-49 doesn't start until Grandview once you go under 470 and the triangle. It's still 71 from that point and to the north through town.

Holmes > Bruce Watkins

They don't have Cleaver. He's a preacher!! That part of town needs to get to work more evidently...

Well, I will say that Watkins is better than Prospect Ave, which is what US 71 Highway USED to be before it was built. I don't mind a couple of stoplights. It's a much faster way to get from out south to Downtown than before.

My mom lives in Arkansas. US 71 is very good road, glad it's going to be interstate now. Also, there is interstate from Bella Vista, AR all the way to I-40 when you keep going south. Goes through Rogers, Bentonville, Fayetteville, etc. And the drive through the Boston Mountains on I-540 is spectacular. Major bridges in the skies. Beautiful drive in fall when the trees are turning colors.