One Road Diverged

Monday the second Diverging Diamond interchange in the nation was opened at National Avenue and James River Freeway, also known as Highway 60 right here in Springfield, Mo. The first one, shown in the photo, is located at Kansas Expressway and I-44.

Incidentally, we have a Kansas Avenue here in town but no one is ever confused if someone says, "Take Kansas south to Battlefield." We know it's the expressway that is indicated. And while we're at it, we would know that Battlefield Road is indicated not Battlefield, Mo., nor Wilson's Creek Battlefield, both located just southwest of town.

I didn't go on the new interchange today, though I was in the neighborhood. I was having blood work done at the clinic just about a block away and I had forgotten that the road was open for business after having been closed all weekend. There is the aforementioned clinic, a major hospital, various offices and businesses located near this interchange and traffic used to back up through the lights every evening. The diverging diamond allows unimpeded turns in either direction onto the highway from the street and so relieves a great deal of the back ups. It seems to have worked marvelously on Kansas and I anticipate it will on National, too.

New Trail For Springfield

Springfield News Leader article says a new park with trails is coming soon. I have a fondness for trails since my time in the Adirondack Mountains gave me plenty of opportunity to hike.

The more the merrier, I say.

Fantastic Friday Facts (or Fun, Depending)

While at Hammons Field tonight (AA Baseball, Springfield Cards vs. NW Arkansas Naturals), I saw Albert Pujols (on TV) get a single to left in Kansas City to drive in two runs and pass Ken Boyer on the Cardinals all-time total bases list. I was looking at a TV because my bride was in line to buy a bottle of water.

Because the people who run stadiums these days assume that everyone in attendance is ADD and isn't at the ballpark for just the ballgame (Imagine!), and there MUST BE FEVERISH ACTIVITY EACH AND EVERY WAKING MOMENT, I read on the scoreboard that the man with the most Academy Award wins was Walter Elias Disney. Elias. I had no idea.

There was a time when trivia questions on the video board at a baseball game were actually related to baseball.

There was a time when (and not so long ago) there were no video boards at major league baseball stadiums, much less minor league stadiums.

Other non-baseball trivia from the video board (sheesh) - approximately 25 percent of the people in the world live on $200 a year, or less. We paid $3.00 for a bottle of water tonight, or roughly one and a half percent of somebody's income this year. Is it wrong? Or just different?

My friend Tim, whom I introduced here, has a funny basketball story I asked him to write, which he did at his blog. I link it there acknowledging his favorite team, the LA Lakers, who just won their 15th NBA title. Enjoy.

Around Town

We are deep in the icy grasp of an Arctic blast but, even now, plans are being polished for the spring and summer highway projects around Springfield.

Not too long ago two new flyovers were finished at I-44 and 65 which eliminated the old and overwhelmed cloverleaf, a design from a bygone era. The same thing will happen at 65 and 60 soon, but the project will be a bit more complicated. Railroad tracks will have to be bridged, plus a walking trail, already bridged, will be cut off during the construction. The end result will be fantastic, but it will be a mess until it is completed.

Also, Glenstone and I-44 will be converted from cloverleaf to diamond and Glenstone north to the next light will become 4-lane.

The project I most anticipate will take place at I-44 and Kansas Expressway on the northwest side of town. It is currently a diamond interchange but it has multiple traffic signals in close proximity to each other on either side of the interstate. The traffic around there is always terrible.

To remedy this, the state will build a 'diverging diamond' interchange which will require the north-south traffic on Kansas Expwy (MO-13) to switch sides of the street on the bridge over 44. This allows for unimpeded left turns onto the interstate which should reduce the congestion. The article from the News-Leader says this is the first of it's kind in the nation, though when I googled it, I saw an animated piece that illustrated highways in the Kansas City area. I wonder if one is planned up there? Perhaps my KC connection will fill me in.

If you wonder what a diverging diamond looks like, here you go.