For those of you that have had enough of the rough interstate travel between Indianapolis Indiana and the Illinois state line in I-70, there is light at the end of the tunnel. They have started repaving that miserable stretch of Interstate highway. I don’t know if they ever found the missing funds that were allocated for the project but they are finally fixing it. I mention missing funds but I am not totally sure if the story is true or not, but knowing state governments around this country I tend to believe the stories. About a year ago I started hearing these stories about the before mentioned stretch of highway. There were rumors about federal funding that the state of Indiana received for the repaving of that stretch of interstate, disappearing into thin air. Then there were stories of congressmen, road commissioners and such living in newly built, lavish houses. True or not, the road is getting repaired, and it is about time. I have cussed and wailed over the ride that I was getting coming across there, I was in a freightliner at the time but I recently ran across there in this Peterbilt and it was still a bit of a rough ride. Although I really didn’t get up to any great speed because it looked just like the picture at the top of this post.
If you are going to be traveling across I-70 in western Indiana you might want to add some time to your trip due to the repaving project between Indianapolis and the Illinois state line. It isn’t one long stretch but there is really not much free travel between construction zones. The road surface there kind of reminded me of a particular truck stop in south west Arkansas about six years ago. The Rip Griffins on interstate 30 in Arkansas was a brand new truck stop then, and it seemed that the asphalt contractor only put down two or three inches of pavement in the truck parking lot. That is OK if you are in the car parking lot but you need six to eight inches for class 8 trucks and up. It didn’t take long before the pavement in the truck lot was coming up in great patches. I believe they eventually sued the contractor and the problem was supposed to be rectified. I haven’t been there in some time so I’m not sure if the TA that now owns the joint, ever repaved it. The same things seems to have happened on Interstate 70 in western Indiana. There are patches of road surface that either came up or collapsed under the strain of traffic. They either put more asphalt in it or poured concrete. either way the truck traffic just destroyed the repairs in short order. Hopefully they will be paving it correctly this time. I like that ride through there when it is on a smooth road so I am anticipating that nice ride again. I know some of you are saying huh? Nice ride? I live in Illinois about 50 or so miles east of St. Louis so I am close to home when I’m west bound through there. I like farm country, there is just something about barns, cows and corn fields that sparks my interest. Maybe it is because my mothers side of the family farmed that bottom land between St. Louis and the bluffs on the Illinois side of the river. I guess its in my blood even though I grew up in town.
There is another trip that I love to take that has been hampered by road closings all summer long and that is I-29 north of Kansas City Mo. It seems that the Missouri river has decided to flood out the interstate there this summer and great sections of Interstate 29 are closed north of Rock Port Missouri. There are detours in place so If you have to go up that way plan on extra time. You can get up to the 110 mile marker in Missouri then you get routed across U.S. 136 east to Tarkio Mo. where you run up U.S. 59 north to U.S. 34 west that takes you back to I-29 north and Omaha Nebraska and points west. you cannot take route 2 west across the river into Nebraska at the moment, you know, the back way to Lincoln and I-80 west? Can’t do it. You can not go north on I-29 very far out of Council Bluffs Iowa either as there are multiple closures up there as well. Most I-29 north traffic has been routed up I-35 out of Des Moines. For up to date information on the closures along Interstate 29 in Iowa and Missouri you can check out the Iowa department of Transportation website.
With the interstate closed up there you will be running along some pretty cool farm country. Just take it easy as you run up through there as the roads are a bit winding and the local police departments are taking no prisoners when it comes to hauling butt through their small towns. I saw plenty of trucks on the side of the road with “Barney” parked behind them lights a flashing. That little detour around the flooding to get back to Interstate 80 west takes at least a full hour. I have been up there twice in two weeks and the second time I got behind some farm equipment and it took me most of an hour and a half to make the detour. One thing to think about as the season of summer gets long in the tooth, With the end of summer comes fall harvest time and with that comes a plethora of farm equipment all along that detour both night and day. Plan your time accordingly if you have to travel up through that flood plagued area of the mid west.
Today I have unloaded in Salt Lake City Utah and am about to head up I-15 to I-84 and into Idaho where I will get a load of potatoes headed back to St. Louis. I like running out here because number one the view is spectacular and number two the traffic is not crazy like it is back east of the Mississippi river. I like the idea that I can get on Interstate 80 at Omaha Nebraska and I don’t have to make any turns until I get to Salt Lake City, a distance of 933 miles. I got to playing around with my GPS while I was sitting in a rest area in Wyoming eating dinner and you would be amazed at the amount of Museums that there are across that 933 miles of interstate 80. Sometime in the fall of my life I am going to come back out here in something other than a truck and take in all that there is to see out here without a schedule of pick ups and deliveries getting in the way. My break is about up and there is paperwork to do, the ever flowing river of paperwork that is trucking and Life on The Road. Stay safe and watch out for those big yellow tubes on wheels that are back on the road. That’s right, school is in session again and there are school buses full of children everywhere. Be careful and give them plenty of room.
TW
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