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Highway snarls create new commuting...
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Highway snarls create new commuting opportunities for Lee’s Summit residents
July 24, 2010
MoDot District Engineer, Beth Wright
Tribune Photo / Fred Poese
By Buck Sommerkamp
The news last weekend came as a shocker to area commuters who spend their mornings going west on I-470 to I-435: a section of the highway began showing a “small crack” that, within a couple of days, had turned into a full-scale collapse of two lanes and shoulder, forcing the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) to close the westbound connection entirely while they looked for solutions. A rising water table affected the foundation of a retaining wall, resulting in a need for emergency repairs.
Following soil testing and a hastily-announced bidding process, MoDOT announced Thursday that the $4.46 million emergency contract project was awarded to Pyramid Contractors, Inc. of Olathe, Kansas. Each day the four-lane highway link is behind schedule, the contractor will be penalized $40,000; alternatively, early completion will result in a $40,000 “bonus” up to $1 million, with a firm deadline set for September 15, and a maximum-incentive early completion date of August 20. Construction will occur around-the-clock to meet the deadline.
The 225-foot bridge extension is “the quickest and most reliable remedy,” according to MoDOT District Engineer Beth Wright. “We will hold the contractor accountable for getting it open swiftly,” Wright said.
A timely challenge
Meanwhile, the Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) had already announced the “Green Commute Challenge” during the months of July and August. MARC had already begun the program before the I-435 problem developed, but considers it a timely opportunity to remind area commuters to “go green, save green” by taking alternative forms of transportation to their workplace. In the Challenge, area companies compete with each other for prizes and earn points based on employees’ non-driving miles. Combining the ozone season with major road construction, bridge repair and traffic problems all over the metropolitan area, commuters stand the chance to voluntarily give up their driving habit – even for a day or two per week – and ride a bicycle, carpool, or take the Metro Bus to work.
MARC quotes AAA in saying that a typical commuter will spend $56 for every 100 miles driving to work in vehicle expenses (factoring the cost of gas, wear and tear on the vehicle, insurance, etc.). Leaving a car at home just twice in one week will prevent 272 pounds of ozone-forming and greenhouse gas emissions, assuming a 20-mile roundtrip, according to MARC. The contest takes place in July and August because Kansas City typically experiences the highest levels of ozone during those hot summer days.
At press time, MARC counted 41 teams and 902 participants in the Green Commute Challenge, who’ve reduced their total driving by 79,163 miles and saved $42,827 in driving costs while preventing 73,220 pounds of emissions.
Riding the Metro from Lee’s Summit
Lee’s Summit actually has three busses running within the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) Metro Bus system. For a $3.00 one-way fare, Lee’s Summit commuters can pick up bus #152 at the Park-n-Ride lot located at Chipman Road and Highway 50, then transfer to any other route within downtown Kansas City, Raytown, or the West Bottoms area. For a Lee’s Summit resident working in the downtown area, the chance to ride the Metro without having to deal with the ongoing hassles of construction zones and traffic tangles may well be worth an occasional $6 day — complete with a chance to sip coffee, read the morning paper, listen to music, and visit with other commuters. It could make the difference between starting the workday with a headache or a relaxing short walk to the office from the bus stop.
Even Google is getting into the act, providing Kansas City commuters with a fully-detailed online trip planner incorporating all of the Kansas City bus routes.
Between the readily-available bus routes to and from Lee’s Summit, incentives to make those saved miles count, and a complete mess on many of the highways— Lee’s Summit residents have plenty of reasons to look into better ways to get to work on time this summer.
For more information on the Three Trails Crossing project, visit http://www.modot.org/kansascity. To sign up for the Green Commute Challenge, check out http://www.marc.org/rideshare/challenge. Planning your trip on the KCATA Metro Bus begins at http://transit.google.com.
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