I-270 and Dorsett Road Diverging Diamond Interchange

[TFv052]

Is it just me or is this road gonna be super confusing?

[SeaniiD85]

@TFv052 I was thinking the samething, I don't think the idea of switching sides would be safe. it may seem efficient, but looks more dangerous

[dodgyhingst]

Problem is that Americans suck at *merging* in traffic and letting others merge with you...well....we suck even worse at that.

Columbia prepares for this at Stadium Blvd and I-70. Cars leaving I-70 will pass through spayers that will hose them in *KY* so they can squeeze through this narrow and over-developed section of roads.

We have a *round-a-bout* which doesn't go any place....would have been cheaper to build a 25 foot straight section of a street. So we are very skeptical of this great idea

[MeyerVW]

Actually, herr Notchie, the classical definition of "liberal" is one that is open to change, whereas a "conservative" is a person who prefers more traditional values. They're both good and necessary. And I'll be damned if this doesn't play into this new-fangled traffic scheme.

But we weren't really talking about that. We were just calling EightBitH3r0 a "Republican" because it sends him into a tizzy, and that's fun to watch on a slow day, eh?

[EightBitH3r0]

@MeyerVW You're a troll and an idiot.

[MeyerVW]

LOL!!!!!

[notchback]

Damn liberals.

[MeyerVW]

So no "thankyou" for all of the help I am providing you? How ungracious!

[MeyerVW]

And I went out of my way to show you the proof that you were yearning for. I think at least a "thankyou" is in order. Sheesh. I weep for the youth of today. I blame the school system.

And come to think of it, the same school systems that are supposed to teach civics and basic etiquette should also be teaching basic research skills. What is the world coming to?

[EightBitH3r0]

@MeyerVW My political affiliations, which I have stated, have NOTHING to do with this intersection. Just keep chanting "yes we can!" and make change for changes sake because you can't feel good about yourself without your self absorbed quest to better the world feeding your glass ego. Delude yourself as far as you like. If you actually opened your eyes you'd be sad at how shallow your reality is. I am not a republican, and I see NO WAY in which that would even relate to this intersection!

[MeyerVW]

LOL!!! I understand why you are so reluctant to admit that you are a republican. They have been getting a great deal of bad press lately.

So you were perfectly willing to give a total stranger grief, when the simplest of web searches could have yielded the information you were whining about in the first place. Sigh. Pesky republicans.

[EightBitH3r0]

Furthermore, liberals with attitudes liek you is why I'm not a Demoncrat.

[EightBitH3r0]

Well pal never proved her point. I never said she was wrong, only that she never provided proof. Someone saying it is so on a youtube comment is not proof. You have provided proof, something she could apparently not grasp. And another thing you all can not seem to grasp I AM NOT A REPUBLICAN. Learn to read.

[MeyerVW]

so I think you owe poor pal51961 an apology for doubting his statistics. Here is the quote you should be reading:

"The unorthodox design has delivered: The number of crashes within the interchange plunged by 60% from June to October of 2009 from the same months of 2008, Saiko said. And, he said, it has solved the clogging problem in commutes."

But being a republican, as you are, the USA Today is probably too much of a Liberal rag to pay attention to.

[MeyerVW]

@EightBitH3r0 - here is the link you were requesting:

usatoday dot com slash news slash nation slash 2010-01-27-diverging-diamond-i­nterchange_N dot htm

Put the dots and slashes where they belong, and you'll have the link. Or is that too hard for you. All I had to do was google "diverging diamond springfield accidents". How hard was that?

[bleakspeaks69]

Anyone who doesn't understand this with the generous signage and road markings should not have a driver's license.

[AngryGundark]

This is brilliant! All of you that find this "confusing" or "complicated" shouldn't be driving a vehicle.

[EightBitH3r0]

This is the worst idea ever. I'm sure it works on paper, but when you enter 20+ confused drivers and the fact that in real life, PEOPLE DON'T FOLLOW THE TRAFFIC LAWS PROPERLY, and this is going to cause accidents. On top of this, the non- interstate road can only proceed ONE DIRECTION AT A TIME. The engineer that though this up should be ashamed of himself.

[abbythree333]

gay!



[followurpassion]

I guess if you just follow the leader, you can figure out where to swerve and swerve back, if late at night and no traffic to follow???/ Hope no head on accidents because do not swerve back from the left side of the road to the right side....reminds me of diving in Europe.

[followurpassion]

It makes me dizzy...........I can just see me hitting that green wedge, trying to make up my mind where to go

[mikehyb]

Brilliant. Good to see innovation in this area is still happening.

[pal51961]

@IROCwarriorAMC88 it's been proven already it reduces accidents by 50%.

[EightBitH3r0]

@pal51961 Where? Prove it.

[pal51961]

@EightBitH3r0 In Springfield, Mo. Futhermore you are a moron. I drove it twice today. No traffic backup at all. And NO confusion on any drivers part. You must be a republican, fighting change every step of the way. Way to go, your party would be proud.

[EightBitH3r0]

@pal51961 Yes hurling insults is the best way to get your point across. You must be a class act. Furthermore, I'm amused by your assumptions about my political party based on my opinion of an intersection. Also, your assumptions are quite wrong anyway. You are a hatemonger.

[pal51961]

@EightBitH3r0 and what political party are you? Honestly?

[EightBitH3r0]

@pal51961 I don't belong to one because I can think for myself!

[EightBitH3r0]

Respond to this video...  Still waiting for you to link proof these intersections reduce accidents. But I suspect you are just making it up anyway.

[pal51961]

@EightBitH3r0 I guess you can't read either. Springfield , Mo. 50% less accidents since opened.  Look it up.

[EightBitH3r0]

@pal51961 Apparently YOU can't read. SHOW ME PROOF. Telling me proof exists, without PROVIDING proof doesn't mean a damned thing.

[hedmuzik]

I got a feeling that emergency responders will be hanging out around this intersection on a regular basis, coinciding with the Westport bars nightly closings.

[coree730]

Hmmm....seems confusing. I am sure if I were actually driving on it, It won't be.

[stlbrian]

I don't see the advantages. There are still stoplights when exiting the highway. I agree with the other person who said they should all be on different planes and then no stoplights would be needed. East bound traffic would cross UNDER West bound traffic and highway traffic could merge freely with the already moving Dorsett traffic.

This is going to make my drunken drive from Westport to Denny's incredibly difficult!!

[jmkabak]

Oh hell no!! Looks like an easy way to have a accident.

[3kmillion]

such an elegant design.

[mzherdev]

I like the concept of this design, but I think an aspect of St. Louis driving is going to ruin it: all of the idiots who end up gridlocking intersections because they were trying to enter a road on the tail end of a jam, blocking the intersection. With traditional intersections, these people would only interrupt drivers going the same direction. With this concept, since they are changing the direction of traffic flow, will now overflow into traffic going the opposite direction.

[astock06]

HAHAHA people in st louis are way too stupid to understand this. i wanna sit there with my video camera the day it opens and record the madness...by the way, i like the design but i know st louis drivers and even worse, illinois drivers.

[zachlutes]

They are putting 2 of these in my area. I prophesy daily minivan vs minivan smash ups. This would be a great design if they would simply put the two crossover lanes on different planes. Allowing the traffic to flow constantly should be a god damn fundamental in the design! But what do I know, I'm just a stupid ass kid.

[phintel63]

What a fantastic and beautiful implementation of queueing theory! This is the second interchange of its kind in Missouri. It does assume an instinct for self-preservation and some intelligence on the part of the driver. But, doesn't all driving?

I've always believed that our interstate highway system with its intricately constructed "interstacktions" (my made-up word for intersections that stack traffic on flyovers and entry and exit ramps) constitute the largest work of art in the world.

[Fiddlemaster56]

Wow 2 lanes exit off 270 yet one lane has to immediately merge into the other or you'll wind up back on 270 going the other direction. haha Bottle neck?

[Fiddlemaster56]

Did anyone else notice the video makes an illegal lane change in the middle of the intersection @1:13? Or is that legal nowadays to do?

[TheWonderV]

St. Louis highways are turning into art school projects....and while I am completely down with and support art, I prefer a bit of science when it comes to my highway system! Why does every highway interchange need to be different around here?! But THIS....I mean, what IS this?! This is not only totally different and nothing like it around the area, but is scary. This will be a mess for a while. Why can't we have what Kingshighway was having?!

[AccelerateHFC]

I already crashed

[tluerman]

Could we possibly make these intersections more complicated? I don't think so.

People turning onto the interstate still have to cross traffic - they are just doing it BEFORE the over pass - THEN they have to cross back.

Getting off the highway? Better hurry up and merge left or you'll find yourself on an entrance ramp.

These projects are being made unnecessarily complicated.