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.

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.