Hope Wichitans are noticing how good the east Kellogg Expressway is looking these days, with the new plantings and landscaping taking hold and handsome nature-inspired designs on the throughway walls.
What an unexpected treat for daily commuters.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
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24 Comments
It does look good. I just can’t wait until they get done with the entire thing. ;)
Although I would like to make a suggestion to make it even better.
Paint the groves a contrast color to make it stand out. Well at least the outline of the leaves. Same goes with the design and words on the Oliver bridge and underpass.
I’ve seen this in Dallas where they have the concrete art painted a contrast color and it really looks great.
I am sure there will be contrasting colors before long.. as soon as the dirtbags with their spray cans get busy. The grafitti vandals are expanding, and this paper helps them by publishing their work.
That gives these little hoodlums ’street cred’ everytime the paper irresponsibly publishes a picture of that garbage. It also encourages others to do more of it, in the hopes they can get in the paper as well.
Responsible papers throughout the country do NOT advertise this garbage. The WPD gang unit cringes every time the paper prints that…it encourages more.
Responsible papers do NOT encourage grafitti vandalism by glorifying it. This paper does… shows real community responsibility, doesn’t it?
Interesting idea Joe. It would be good to see some pictures of the examples you use.
Since I drive it daily I too look forward to its ultimate completion. I’m not really looking forward to the next detour situation for Rock but realize that it is necessary.
I am less concerned about how it looks and more concerned about how long it is taking to complete the project. I moved to Wichita almost 20 years ago and they were talking about the project and working on the West Kellogg expansion by the airport back then. A project like this should be a 3-5 year project tops.
Ben
Here is a site I found with an example of what I was talking about in Dallas.
http://www.texasfreeway.com/Dallas/construction/high_five/high_five_2005-04-27.html
Notice the concrete pillars.
Yes, it is nice to look at what has been done to Kellogg, even if you do have to look at it whizzing by at 60mph, and dodging the idiots who are lane switching and speeding and talking in cell phones and putting on makup, etc.I’d like to talk about, and praise, the police force for the present slow-’em-down campaign. I drive west Kellogg every day and it was great this morning for the first time in a while to believe that I might actually get to work alive. The Opinion Line dim-bulbs who say all the cops are doing is raising money for the city is probably the one who roared by me at 80 mph, switched two lanes, without signaling of course, and took the off ramp, saving himself, oh, maybe 15 or 20 seconds.And don’t get me started about the young women with their size 4s pressed to the floor, a cell phone in their ear, not paying the slightest attention to what they are doing.Maybe we need another post for this.
Thanks Joe – cool.
Another thing that might be nice both on Kellogg and elsewhere – ‘wall art’. They have that in Montreal where artists (and I do NOT mean grafittists) pain scenes on walls. Obviously the scene would have to be approved prior to painting.
I’m sure we have some local talent who could do some good murals.
The joint “East Kellogg business corridor/Highway 54 Trafficway” is a design and usage disaster. Years ago, when the opportunity was still available, alignment of Highway 54, traveling east, starting at about the Oliver/Rock Road vicinity, should have split off to the southeast and then parallel to the current “Kellogg business route.”
This would have been hugely cheaper to build and faster to finish without the necessity of continuing traffic through the construction project.
I didn’t live here in those days but did travel through Wichita to or from Kansas City to Pratt beginning in the 1950’s (when Maple was still Highway 54). Construction of the combined “Highway 54/Kellogg traffic corridor” has always been a disaster bordering on a crime in process.
The current merging traffic lanes from U.S. 54 corridor on to the Kellogg frontage roads is extremely dangerous. It would be interesting to know the accident statistics along there. Perhaps Town East could have been placed nearer the Highway 54 by-pass.
Its just another instance in a long-line of screw-ups by the so-called “big-boys” in Wichita city and county governments.
There is an old saying something to the effect, “Big boys make bigger mistakes.”
Actually JWink, Kellogg will cease to be “54″.
This is a very long term project, and yes they should have design it or even expect it a long time ago. Wichita is building to catch-up, while many other places build for the future.
Dallas is an example. There new highway interchanges and roads are design to handle the increase traffic for the next 30 years.
Highway 54 that goes out west and down to Liberal and beyond, will be different than Highway 400 that Kellogg uses both as the signication.
The Northwest Bypass that will start construction in 2010 will be Highway 54, which will wrap around the west and north of Wichita to concect 254 towards El Dorado. Kellogg through Wichita will cease to be Highway 54 at that point.
Highway 400 is unique because it is a temporary number, because it is the only one that has #00, or two zeros. Highway 400 will be Interstate 66, but that is going to take a long time and if ever. It is up to the state and cities to spearhead it before the Federal Government starts pouring money into it. Wichita is moving ahead by making it an entire freeway through the city and that is what’s needed.
With the Northwest bypass, highway 54 from west Wichita through Goddard will also be a freeway and also starting in 2010, they will 4-lane it from where it ends near Kingman all they way past Pratt near Greensburg. Highway 54 will actually wrap around north of Pratt and Kingman.
If you ever notice that when the 4-lane ends just east of Kingman it suddenly turns sharply in the southern direction, so you drive through Kingman. They design that for the future, because they will continue to the 4-lane.
The big debate on Interstate 66 or Highway 54 is what to really do.
Interstate 66 would go from D.C. to Fresno, California and going right through Wichita. But DOT ceased the plans of anything going west of Wichita, because there would be no significant traffic that would warrent it because there is nothing viable in Western Kansas and Southern Colorado and it would have to go through Death Valley nation park and the National Park Service opposed it going through it.
This really pissed off Dodge City, Garden City, and Pubelo Colorado and all the other little towns inbetween. But it is kind of true. West of Wichita until you get to Frenso doesn’t have really anything. So Interstate 66 is now planned to end in Wichita. So Wichita will be the interplex for Interstate 66, 35, 135, and the NAFTA Freeway.
Highway 54 wants to be the NAFTA Freeway to connect El Paso to Wichita, so it can connect to the Turnpike to continue towards K.C. and beyond, but it also wants to connect it to Chicago. That is why Highway 54 runs through Kansas and once it hits in Missouri it makes sharp turn towards the North East and points straight towards Chicago. Actually “54″ goes all the way to Illinois now.
Either one will happen or both. Both might be a long shot, but one is the outcome but what to choose? Either the NAFTA Interstate or Interstate 66.
The problem lies with Missouri and eastern Kansas. No matter what happens, Wichita will benefit and will be the midway connecting point, but east and west of Wichita is what they can’t figure out at this time.
Kansas is still handling the NAFTA Freeway with care, because of the Interstate 66 being out of the plans for Western Kansas. Once they 4-lane it towards Greensburg, they (politicans) are still trying to keep the Dodge City and Garden City people sort of happy, while they bypass them and 4-lane it to Liberal. the beef triangle of Garden City, Dodge City and Liberal is a touchy issue because they all hate each other and Liberal benefiting with a 4-lane NAFTA Freeway doesn’t sit well with Garden and Dodge.
But everything is looking good for Wichita, it’s just taking so long, but these kinds of projects are very expensive and very politically motivated with tons of interest getting involved.
Joe and other highway afficionados: I was raised in Pratt until I left for K-State in 1956. As a young fellow, I worked in a grocery store in east Pratt, now the site of a Coastal C-Store, on Highway 54.
Back in the post-WWII years, long before Eisenhower’s Interstate Highway System that overlapped the older U.S. Highway System, I remember the huge volume of traffic along Highway 54 taking the “shortcut road” from Chicago to southern California. I think “shortcut” was a reference to Highway 66 further south going along north/central Oklahoma. Actually the two highways intersected in Illinois and in New Mexico.
One memory I have of those 1950 vintage automobile travelers is they all carried canvas water bags hooked on their front bumper covered with smashed grasshoppers. I think the water was for putting in overheated radiators rather than for drinking.
At that time, Highway 54 ran north and south down Pratt’s Main Street from first to fifth Street routing all those trans-continental travelers through Pratt’s business district. I remember one restaurant, the Mecca Cafe, that had a blinking sign saying “Its the Lemon Pie.” I suspect many hungry cross-country travelers couldn’t resist that sign. Upstairs over that restaurant, in the 1930’s was a dance hall with a floor built on steel springs to swing and sway with dancers to the small band that played on those late evenings looking down on Pratt’s Main Street and the beautiful Barron Theater across the street.
In Wichita, coming from Pratt, Highway 54 turned north out by Resthaven Cemetery to Maple and then entered Wichita on Maple. I remember the huge billboards along Maple that seemed to get closer together as we approached downtown Wichita. One said “For an honest value, shop at Crook’s furniture store.”
My dad and I often stopped at Tak-Homa-Burger on Maple for hamburgers and a soft drink from Arky (who bought T-H-B in 1948) in those days. Amazing that I just saw Arky on his porch in the past few days, now retired from the hamburger business.I believe in downtown Wichita after crossing the Arkansas River on Maple by the present day Boathouse, Highway 54 turned north on one of the downtown streets, perhaps Broadway, and then ran east again on Central out of Wichita toward Augusta.
In any case, Highway 54 and Highway 66 and all of the original U.S. Highway System highways received their original designation in 1926 with lots of route changes since that time.
Essentially traffic on Highway 54 was traveling from Chicago to Southern California. Technically, however, Highway 54’s eastern terminus periodically changed from west central Illinois to downtown Chicago and back to west central Illinois. Highway 54’s west terminus was originally where it intersected with Highway 66 in northern New Mexico but from 1934 to today it terminates at El Paso.
El Paso is an important intersection because traffic going to southern California does so by skirting around south of the Rocky Mountains. Traffic into Mexico continues on Highway 45 and as you say the two highways, Mexico’s Highway 45 and U.S. Highway 54 are known as the “Nafta highway.”
In regard to Highway 400, it is a “Johnny come lately” to the U.S. Highway System using as you said the “unique” 400 number. It starts somewhere in Kansas and goes to somewhere else in Kansas. It is an admirable attempt by some small town boosters to add some business but double signing is an expensive gimmick for the highway department.Jerry Winkelman
JWink, you saw Arky? That’s great! I wasn’t sure if he was still among the living.
I grew up on Arky’s burgers. We lived a few blocks away on Dayton, over by West High. I can remember being too little to see over the counter at Arky’s, so my dad would have to pick me up so I could watch the burgers being flipped.
I vaguely remember 54 construction a block away from my house, where the ramp was on Seneca. (That would be Seneca south of Douglas.) The neat thing was, it made a deadend where we rode our bikes around and around, often no-hands. Yeah, we were brave. LOL
Anyone remember Fairland Cafe across from Innes/Macy’s?
I want to expand on Joe’s comments about the proposed plan to route Highway 54 around the north side of Kingman and also Pratt. That plan has been cussed and discussed for several years now by leading citizens of both these communities.
I agree that right-of-way probably should be reserved for the future in case that route or part of that route is ever needed.
As Joe said, one plan is to build around Kingman on the north side and then bring the highway back to the present alignment west of Kingman, perhaps a distance of five miles. Then at Pratt, do essentially the same thing, route Highway 54 around the north side of Pratt but south of the old Pratt Army Air Base, and then back to the present alignment out near Skyline High School on the west side of Pratt, again perhaps five miles.
Another much more expensive proposal is to build a new highway some 50 miles from east of Kingman to west of Pratt.
I don’t like this second plan for several reasons. One, the drive from Kingman to Cunningham and to Pratt is one of the most picturesque in Kansas — as it passes across and along the beautiful, meandering and always flowing Ninnescah River, a Kansas treasure.
Secondly, bordering Highway 54 between Kingman/Cunningham/Pratt are the forests of windbreaks, generally fronted with Pine and Cedar trees and backed with Cottonwood and Elm trees. These windbreaks were championed by Eleanore Roosevelt (wife of President Franklin Roosevelt) in speeches she made in Kansas to combat Kansas dust storms of the 1930’s. Another benefit was too provide cover for wild animals.
So, anyway, I personally would like to see Highway #54 continue on this beautiful historic alignment rather than move to higher ground and much less attractive alignment a few miles to the north. Hopefully, the highway can be widened to super two if not divided four lane in the present corridor.
Another complication with this realignment proposal is a basic lack of traffic. The main problem is sight distance because of hills. The cross-country 18-wheeler truck traffic that doesn’t need to pass through Wichita — DOESN’T PASS THROUGH WICHITA — so doesn’t travel west on Highway 54. These large trucks leave Emporia and travel west on Highway 50 past Strong City to Newton, then on to Hutchinson, then southwest down K-96 to Pratt and west on Highway 54. An alternate is on Highway 56 to Dodge City. In any case, the large truck traffic on Highway 54 from Wichita to Kingman to Pratt is generally there only because of a required pass through Wichita.
As I have said before in one of these blogs, Kansas made a major mistake back in the late 1950’s and 1960’s when it failed to turn the Kansas turnpike west from Wichita to Liberal and towards Southwestern U.S. Kansas would have collected zillions of gas taxes and business from tourists and truckers by now instead of generously handing it over to Oklahoma.
Whats that saying about hindsight …?
Jerry Winkelman
R.D.: Arky tells me he remembers Vera Miles’ mother coming into the Tak-Homa-Burger to eat occasionally. But he says he doesn’t remember Vera Miles, herself, because she won all kinds of beauty contests in Wichita in 1948 before leaving for Hollywood to make many movies. Arky arrived in Wichita in 1948 just as Vera Miles was leaving the Delano neighborhood in west Wichita for Hollywood. Incidentally, Vera Miles’ mother worked in the old Innes Tea Room.
Just to let you know JWink, since you are interested in this. The following is a link to the KDOT plan for 54.
http://www.forward54.org/
Interesting, JWink. I knew Vera Miles was a Wichita girl. She went to North at the same time my uncle did. I think they were in the same class. Someday, I’ll check that out.
Okay, it’s someday. *grin* Internet Movie Data Base says she was born in Oklahoma in 1929 and attended school in Pratt and Wichita. She was Miss Kansas in 1948.
She’s more like Don Johnson than Kirstie Alley and tends not to mention Wichita much.
I hadn’t heard about the changes regarding west 54, but it brings to mind what happened when 166 was rerouted south of Sedan. It’s pretty much killed that town as far as commerce is concerned. They relied on the traffic for quite a bit of income. That probably wouldn’t happen to the same extent to Kingman and the rest, but I wonder what the affects would be.
RD: I have been gathering information on Vera Miles, actress, because of interest by members of our Pratt High School blog site. Some info I have: after moving to Wichita from Pratt with her mother, Vera graduated from Wichita’s North High School in 1948. Also in 1948: Vera won a beauty contest at Lawrence-Dumont stadium, won Miss Kansas and placed third or fourth in Miss America contest (accounts vary.) She apparently left for Hollywood that same year and started her amazing acting/movie career.
In Wichita, Vera’s mother worked in the Innes Tea Room and lived in an apartment building located across the street from the downtown library, on the site of the Fidelity Bank. Arky says Vera also spent time with her grandmother who lived near Tak-Homa-Burger. He says he heard Vera occasionally worked in a little grocery store located in the building that is still attached to the east side of the original Tak-Homa-Burger on Maple. Arky says he is not sure he ever met Vera because she left for Hollywood about the same time Arky arrived from Arkansas to buy the Tak-Homa-Burger.
******************************
About your comments about re-routing highways out and around small towns, I am also convinced this removes a lot of economic vitality. It destroys private investments in restaurants and motels that were located along the present highway through the town.
I’ve heard the arguments for the re-routing: reduce clatter of trucks and buses rolling through town, reduce wear and tear on city streets (although the Highway Department usually pays for maintenance), and allow through travelers to speed on down the road.
But did moving K-96 around Haven on the way to Hutchinson help or hurt Haven? What about Peabody on Highway 50? And countless other small towns in Kansas?
Many of these projects originate in the fertile minds of designers and contractors who want the work regardless of damage they cause to the infrastructure of communities along the way.
This might be selfish on my part, and I’m sure many truckers feel the same way, but going through a town and being stopped by the single light is a nuisance.
Sure! If you need a bite to eat or fuel, then it’s ok. But if you are on the move all the time, it’s much more of a burden.
I’m not trying to personally attack all the small towns, but the purpose of highway is to get to one point to another quickly and effiently. That is why we have a huge network of Interstate Highways.
Do these towns get killed by re-routing of highways or were they dieing already?
I drive all over the state of Kansas. I put in on average 5000 miles a month. One thing is certain, that Pratt, Kingman, Greensburg, Cunningham and others on 54 are not growing.
There hasn’t been anything new built in those towns, no new business and in fact they are closing up. Even gas stations and long time opened restaurants have closed up.
Look at Ford, Kansas where the buildings on their main street have their roof caved in and windows and doors missing. It’s basically a ghost town, even if it is heavily traveled by truckers and others on their way to Dodge and Garden.
Highway 54 hasn’t been rerouted yet around Pratt or Kingman and I don’t think that keeping “54″ the way it is by going through the towns won’t save these towns, so re-routing it over them for convience, cost, and efficency is the best route.
Joe, I agree with some of your points but disagree with others in your above post.
Everyone who knows western Kansas is concerned about its apparent gradual economic decline. We fear that decline because those small communities provided a great place to grow up. I am constantly amazed to learn of fellow students from small western Kansas towns who achieved so much in education and in their professions. It seems to be the rule rather than the exception.
You mentioned Pratt. Pratt is a star of south central Kansas. Bill Kurtis, the national columnist, whose sister is State Senator Jean Schodorf of Wichita, recently spoke to the Pratt Chamber of Commerce. Prior to the dinner, I got to visit with Mr. Kurtis. He told me he had driven around Pratt for about an hour before arriving at the Pratt 4-H building.
Mr. Kurtis is keenly observant as you would expect. He noticed that most retail stores along Pratt’s Main Street were occupied. He noticed the cleanliness of the City and the brick streets of which Pratt people are proud. He asked about the Ninnescah River that actually flows water at the south edge of town. He asked about the cattle industry and condition of the oil producing pumps in the area.
Speaking of businesses, and this can be a problem for less dynamic cities, Wal Mart recently built a new “super” Wal Mart a few blocks east of the old Wal Mart store.
Pratt has always had a lot of restaurants, several featuring buffets for some reason, because Pratt people like to dine out.
Pratt people like to think Pratt is the gateway to “western” Kansas, located on top of that mythical east/west boundary line. And gateway to the magnificant red oxide colored, gypsum hills carved by the Medicine River south down around Medicine Lodge.
Pratt County has always harvested lots of wheat which I helped to do as a young person. Still producing oil fields still lie under the northeast/southeast parts of the county. The approximately 7,000 thrifty people of Pratt County have always exhibited the strong work ethic to accomplish all they could in this south central section of Kansas.
Historically, a Pratt banker, Mr. ______, and Mr. Innes of Wichita helped Wichita’s air industry pioneers, Mr. Cessna, Beech and Stearman obtain financing for their fledgling Travel Aire company.
I suspect similar stories could be told about many other central and western Kansas towns. These agricultural towns are a valuable treasure that Kansas shouldn’t lose. And I think routing highways around these small towns will hurt, not help, their fragile economies.
Although I would say that Pratt is fairing much better than any of the other towns I visit. Kingman is really dieing, but I’ll give you that Pratt is holding their own.
I have a friend that lives there and I often times visit the Pratt Schools and Skyline School as well.
JWink,
Thanks for the info on Vera Miles. The next time I see my uncle, I’ll ask him about her. They’re busy now, with harvest on the way, and they winter in Florida because of his health. But if I learn anything–they weren’t good friends or close–I’ll pass it on to you.
Welcome Kansas Transportation Department officials, Mr. Towarty (sp?) and Mr. Miller (I believe I can spell Miller!), from Wichita and Hutchinson highway districts respectively. I hope you, your associates and consultants consider the above concerns of Wichita Eagle bloggers about future planned improvements to U.S. Highway 54 from Wichita to Pratt.
Its a wonderful opportunity to finally showcase southern and southwestern Kansas as should have been done more than a half century ago.
After visiting with both of you this P.M., I received the impression that future U.S. Highway 54 will “most likely” by-pass both Kingman and Pratt around their north sides. I hope this can be done tastefully. Thankfully, most likely Highway 54 will continue along the present historic alignment between west Kingman and east Pratt especially through the beautiful forested Byron Walker Wildlife Area along the meandering Ninnescah River and through the vast waving wheat fields and producing oil wells of eastern Pratt County.Also some enhancements might be added to increase highway travelers’ comfort and attractiveness in the vicinity of the tiny hamlet of Calista, a town that like Brigadoon is said to only re-appear occasionally in the old forest of Cottonwood trees, a quarter-mile south of Highway 54 beside the old railroad in Kingman County.
There might be a short bypass around the south side of the immaculate but sleepy small farming village of Cunningham, about half way between Kingman and Pratt.
Years ago, there was a full-size Dutch windmill along Highway #54 within a few miles of Cunningham but I haven’t spotted its ruins in recent years.
Also perhaps a more dramatic entranceway might be added to invite tourists to visit the fabulous 70 year old Pratt Fish Hatchery and aquarium on the banks of the Ninnescah River about three miles east of Pratt and a mile south of Highway 54.
If anyone is interested in old highway relics, at 167th West and Maple is–what I am told–an original gas station on the old route 54. My dad tells me this is where 54 turned onto Maple to make its way into Wichita. I’ve seen it–kind of interesting if you’re into that kind of history.
Joe, I have heard about I-66 but most of your details are news to me. I’m interested in learning more. Is there somewhere on the internet where I can go? Thanks.
I remember the Fairland Cafe well because I was connected to it through family members. If you want to rekindle old memories, you can look on my photo site and see a few pictures I have there.http://kevinkitchen.smugmug.com/gallery/2298144