Wasting $600 million in Johnson County
Yael T. AbouhalkahThe $600 million Johnson County Gateway is the project from hell, supposedly paved with good intentions.
This monstrosity of road construction is a multi-year plan to widen Interstate 35, Interstate 435 and Kansas 10, and to expand interchanges and add flyovers where these roads come together. The intent is to handle the greater loads of traffic expected in the next few decades.
And if they build it, the traffic will surely come.
A complementary project has been under way nearby for many months. I-435 is growing wider by multiple lanes. New sound barriers are rising to attempt to protect neighboring houses and apartments from the din of ever-increasing traffic. Traffic backups are common.
What’s so bad about the Johnson County Gateway?
- It is pro-sprawl.
If this is a “gateway” to anything, it’s a way for people to get farther away from current residents, especially those in Kansas City. As such, the gateway damages the future of the single most important city in this area, the city that features almost all of the most essential public amenities (especially sports and cultural attractions) that make a metropolitan region first-class.
- It is anti-transit, anti-biking and anti-pedestrian.
The Johnson County Commission recently decided it doesn’t want to spend a few million dollars a year to improve bus service for the elderly and low-income. This is also a county that thinks good transit means making its buses drive slowly on the shoulders of I-35.
Meanwhile, Kansas and Missouri spend just fractions of what they should on transit, though some taxpayers in Kansas City are voting to determine whether they will support a $100 million streetcar system that could boost downtown’s revival.
The dollars used for eyesores like the gateway siphon away funds that could be used to construct bike lanes and pathways. Don’t forget that cars rule in Johnson County — and this region.
- It discourages racial and economic diversity.
Making it easier to get away and avoid dealing with the challenges of not just Kansas City but also Kansas City, Kan., northeast Johnson County and the southern parts of the region such as Grandview helps people wash their hands of trying to be part of the solution.
- Did I mention it’s expected to cost $600 million?
That’s $100 million more than the entire Kansas City general fund budget for cops, firefighters, street repairs and most other city services.
- And — big finish here — it subtly discourages citizens from working together on behalf of regional priorities, will cost lots of money to maintain in the future (ready for road reconstruction in, say, 10 years?), and puts pressure on other local officials to compete by offering their own costly plans to expand roadways in the Northland, Lee’s Summit and other growing parts of the region.
Ultimately, the Johnson County Gateway is exactly the kind of nonconstructive fallout we should have expected after county leaders several years ago rejected a plan offered through the Mid-America Regional Council to try to reduce sprawl.
But surely there’s something positive about the project, right?
For that we turn to the Kansas Department of Transportation, which has a website at jocogateway.com to explain how it’s supposedly going to reduce congestion, improve safety and lead to all kinds of wonderful economic development.
It’s already helped create jobs for HNTB, the project manager, and will create more for companies that want to be involved with paving over the county.
The Johnson County Gateway is an excellent reminder that, at the end of the day, the real intentions of road planners and highway builders are to create engineering and construction jobs to pour more concrete and build wider roads, while trying to move additional vehicles.
All of these actions lead to — you got it — more expensive highway projects.
Reach Yael T. Abouhalkah at 816-234-4887 or abouhalkah@kcstar.com. He blogs at voices.kansascity.com and appears on “Ruckus” at 7 tonight on KCPT. Twitter @YaelTAbouhalkah
Tyler Smith
6 months, 1 week agoYou hit this one out of the park. It’s surely going to cost more than $600,000,000. And for what exactly, a 2-5 minute faster drive during rush hour? U.S. needs to think smarter. JOCO needs to spend smarter.
Jared Bright
6 months, 1 week agoWhile the cost is extremely high, most of these reasons are a huge stretch. I do not see any way this will take away from KCMO. They are clearly trying to attract young professionals to live downtown in the lofts. My generation won’t suddenly be moving to Olathe because of a better highway interchange.
There are also already several good bike trails in JoCo, and a lot of roads have bike lanes. These bikes lanes are also never used. Improving a heavily traveled highway takes nothing away from bikers.
Discourgaing racial and economic diversity is the worst claim in this article. I’m not trying to escape KCK when I get on 435W; traveling to Lawrence is me trying to avoid yucky Grandview; I would just prefer not the wreck my car with all the merging. There are always drivers headed to Lawrence flying around the lanes to get on K10 while fighting merging traffic from 35N, 35S and Lackman. The intentions are to make this intersection safer for everyone involved and improve traffic flow for something designed decades ago.
Roads have to be maintained everywhere so that claim is also a stretch. Overall, every claim in this article is wrong. Yes, the cost is extremely high and it is very long-term project, but it is also a sign of tax dollars (those alloted for roads, not bike trails or public transportation by the way) being put to good work.
George Hunsucker
Northland
6 months, 1 week agoSorry YT, who in their right mind would want to actually live in KC, either one, with their high crime, poor services and of course dismal school systems…. But you got fiber!!!!
JOCO people are doing the right thing by making life better for their residents. The FACT all KC can do is bike lanes and a transit system that won’t pay for itself without subsidies speaks volumes…
Good that you also tossed in the dreaded “lack of diversity” YT….
Alan Tabula
6 months, 1 week agoEvery word is true. Bike/ped access across, around, and through this mammoth project is going to be quite a challenge, but crucial for maintaining access for those unable or unwilling to drive.