I-35 Ankeny->Ames to become six lanes?

[BillBrasky4Cy]

The widening of a secondary route . north/south would cut down on congestion. Give traffic an alternate path.

My main argument with this is that widening hwy 17 or 69 would have limited benefits. Hwy 17 isn't overly accessible if you live on the west side. 141 between 35/80 and Grimes is already a parking lot and wouldn't be able to handle the increase. The only people that would benefit from 69 being widened would Ankeny residents because again, this road has limited access.

 

[carvers4math]

I know several people who commute this route every day, as well as some students who have done it. I wonder how bad it will be during the 20 year construction phase?

 

[Farnsworth]

I know several people who commute this route every day, as well as some students who have done it. I wonder how bad it will be during the 20 year construction phase?

This is what I was thinking. It's going to be a rough 20 years during the process of construction.

Thankfully I live in Ankeny and can take 69 the whole way.

 

[jkclone]

If we lived in a bubble this might be true, but remember, if this takes place over 20 years, then Ankeny and Ames are both going to see significant additional growth during that time, so that when it is finally complete, you won't see much difference. Now if they could get the widening done in one construction season, that might be a little different, but it'd still eventually peak back to the same traffic level. So I guess the point I'm making is that the widening is probably needed. Just that it won't alleviate congestion, just keep it at a more stable level as growth increases.

I'm not sure the point of people saying this. You say you are for widening so this isn't really directed at you, but do some of the people that say similar things want to just leave it and let the growth make it worse? We need to be forward thinking.

 

[carvers4math]

This is what I was thinking. It's going to be a rough 20 years during the process of construction.

Thankfully I live in Ankeny and can take 69 the whole way.

Everyone I know that does this commute lives in Ankeny. I wonder if part of the problem is lack of affordable housing in Ames?

 

[clonebb]

Yes...it was essentially an extension on the 65 bypass continuing north curving the the west just north of Ankeny. One of the proposed routes had it going north all the way to Cambridge and connecting with HWY 210. Last I had heard, there was some serious environmental issues that came up in studies, so it was shelved.

I think the EPA nixed it because they found a robin nest it a tree within ten miles of the proposed route.

 

[clonebb]

Everyone I know that does this commute lives in Ankeny. I wonder if part of the problem is lack of affordable housing in Ames?

6th avenue right into downtown Des Moines. FTW.

 

[Incyte]

You have to believe increasing connectivity between Ames and the state's largest metropolitan area is of great value for Iowa State.

Anyone know how efforts to build-up the "cultivation corridor" are going? I know Leath really pushed that (wisely).

 

[HFCS]

It's hilarious that Des Moines extended metro is or will be mostly 6 lanes when 90% of 90/94 corridor through Chicago is only 6 lanes. That's not a dig on Des Moines, but a face palm of horrific Chicago traffic.

 

[JHUNSY]

I can see that side of it, but I think this scenario might be a little different. We're talking about a primary route that doesn't have that many other options. What percentage of people who need to get between Ames and DSM don't use I-35, right now? Some certainly use 69, but is it approaching 30% of all traffic? I don't have the numbers, but I wouldn't think so. What I'm saying is that there's a finite amount of traffic that needs to go along that route, so yes, more people likely would use a widened I-35, but I suspect there's not enough volume out there that's not currently using it to bring congestion levels back to where they currently are.

I'd imagine the primary flow goes through I-35, HWY 69, and Co Rd R38 (South Dakota Ave/510th Ave south of HWY 30 in Story County and Linn St/NW 44th St in Polk County).

Looks like a little more than 87% use I-35 south of 210 (essentially the Huxley Slater line, where I'm assuming commuters from there add to the flow towards and from Des Moines), with 7% on 69 and the last 6% on R38.

Just south of HWY 30, the mix is 80% on I-35, 12% on HWY 69, and the last 8% on R38.

Since a few mentioned it, for comparison's sake (full disclosure, I'm no expert and there's probably some one on here more qualified to estimate on these):

• I-35 was close to roughly 45,000 daily on the Story County side and 50,000 on the Polk County side from 2015 numbers.
• HWY 141 approaching roughly 45,000 into the 80-35 stretch (latest numbers indicate 38,000 as of 2012 but the area has seen a lot of growth and infrastructure development especially with Johnston's new high school built near the boom of the Grimes line.
• I-235 is probably running 125,000 at least between 42nd and west of the river (again, based on the latest numbers of 2012) and maybe the lower of the range between 110,000-115,000 west of 42nd.

Sources:

http://www.iowadot.gov/maps/msp/traffic/2015/counties/STORY.pdf

http://www.iowadot.gov/maps/msp/traffic/2012/counties/POLK.html

http://www.iowadot.gov/maps/msp/traffic/2012/cities/Grimes.pdf

http://www.iowadot.gov/maps/msp/traffic/2012/cities/DesMoines.pdf

 

[danielyp29]

would it be harder to go from 4 to 8 lanes instead of 4 to 6?

 

[JP4CY]

Everyone I know that does this commute lives in Ankeny. I wonder if part of the problem is lack of affordable housing in Ames?

If I had to guess it's because one spouse may work in Ames and one in the metro. Kind of an in between spot to live that isn't Huxley or Elkhart.

 

[Judoka]

I think the conversion of the exit ramp to Hwy 30 into a flyover ramp will help a lot. Traffic slows down so much right now because people have to slow down to 35 mph to exit.

Whoever put all those clover leafs around the interstates in Iowa needs to be forced to use them every day whenever there is more than a hint of traffic.

 

[Mr Janny]

If we lived in a bubble this might be true, but remember, if this takes place over 20 years, then Ankeny and Ames are both going to see significant additional growth during that time, so that when it is finally complete, you won't see much difference. Now if they could get the widening done in one construction season, that might be a little different, but it'd still eventually peak back to the same traffic level. So I guess the point I'm making is that the widening is probably needed. Just that it won't alleviate congestion, just keep it at a more stable level as growth increases.

I don't think anyone's saying it's a permanent solution, but even if it maintains current congestion levels over the next 20 years, and doesn't make them worse, it's still probably a good idea.

 

[Trice]

69 would be a much more feasible route if it bypassed Huxley so it was non-stop from Ames to Ankeny. Huxley's lower speed limits + stoplights + the four-way stop at Highway 210 creates such a bottleneck. On the times when I-35 is closed or slow due to an accident, forget about it. I've spent upwards of 30 minutes just getting through the Huxley portion of 69 (let alone the other 15 miles) when something happens on I-35 during rush hour.

As it is, this lane expansion may take 20 years but I'm assuming they will always keep 2 lanes open so it's not a big deal. As someone else said, the reconfiguration of the death trap that is the I-35/US 30 interchange will go a long way toward easing congestion. As would the summary execution of drivers who lollygag in the left lane.

 

[EnhancedFujita]

I'm not sure the point of people saying this. You say you are for widening so this isn't really directed at you, but do some of the people that say similar things want to just leave it and let the growth make it worse? We need to be forward thinking.

The point is usually that multiple connections are typically better than 1 wider connection. Think about Hickman from Waukee to 80/35. It's so bad because there aren't any alternatives. The same thing will continue to happen with I-35 north. The DOT can widen the corridor, but that isn't going to solve anything but keeping status quo. To really reduce the congestion you need to provide more options. Making 69 north from Ankeny a limited access 4-lane highway would help a bunch, as would upgrading the NW 44th Street Corridor through Slater that comes into the west side of Ames. My wife takes that route every morning from Johnston to Ames, but I'd bet there are still a lot of folks in the northwest side of the metro that take the interstates because it seems like its the best route when it might not be for them.

 

[EnhancedFujita]

I don't think anyone's saying it's a permanent solution, but even if it maintains current congestion levels over the next 20 years, and doesn't make them worse, it's still probably a good idea.

Agreed, that's why I said I wasn't necessarily against doing it, just that people need to realize it isn't going to lessen congestion.

 

[Jnecker4cy]

The point is usually that multiple connections are typically better than 1 wider connection. Think about Hickman from Waukee to 80/35. It's so bad because there aren't any alternatives. The same thing will continue to happen with I-35 north. The DOT can widen the corridor, but that isn't going to solve anything but keeping status quo. To really reduce the congestion you need to provide more options. Making 69 north from Ankeny a limited access 4-lane highway would help a bunch, as would upgrading the NW 44th Street Corridor through Slater that comes into the west side of Ames. My wife takes that route every morning from Johnston to Ames, but I'd bet there are still a lot of folks in the northwest side of the metro that take the interstates because it seems like its the best route when it might not be for them.

They just redid the whole 69 route from Ankeny to Ames not to many years ago. They decided not to expand to 4 lanes than I would think that that is not in the plans. If so what a wasted project just a few short years ago.

 

[jkclone]

The point is usually that multiple connections are typically better than 1 wider connection. Think about Hickman from Waukee to 80/35. It's so bad because there aren't any alternatives. The same thing will continue to happen with I-35 north. The DOT can widen the corridor, but that isn't going to solve anything but keeping status quo. To really reduce the congestion you need to provide more options. Making 69 north from Ankeny a limited access 4-lane highway would help a bunch, as would upgrading the NW 44th Street Corridor through Slater that comes into the west side of Ames. My wife takes that route every morning from Johnston to Ames, but I'd bet there are still a lot of folks in the northwest side of the metro that take the interstates because it seems like its the best route when it might not be for them.

I don't disagree with improving those options too. Like I said it wasn't really directed at you, but some people seem to just be against improving the traffic.

 

[JP4CY]

They just redid the whole 69 route from Ankeny to Ames not to many years ago. They decided not to expand to 4 lanes than I would think that that is not in the plans. If so what a wasted project just a few short years ago.

It was a little odd. I was hoping they'd at least make 69 4 lanes from the 102 Huxley or 96 Elkhart into North Ankeny.