State Sen. Les Donovan, R-Wichita, chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, told The Eagle editorial board that the idea of an Amtrak passenger route through Wichita is “appealing,” but he’s not sure whether the state could find the financing for it.
Donovan said another transportation infrastructure goal he’d like to see eventually — “it’s not going to happen in my time” — is the so-called “SPIRIT 54” plan to make U.S. 54 a four-lane from Wichita all the way southwest to El Paso.
A four-state coalition of supporters has managed to upgrade a few legs of the route, improving safety and access on what they say is the most heavily traveled two-lane highway in the nation. But as with the Heartland Flyer dream, financing remains an uphill climb.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
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8 Comments
Kansas is pretty cash strapped for funding of highway projects. Our next ten year transportation bill will include the NW bypass for Wichita and projects from Topeka to KC area.
It does however may include a good section of the Spirit 54 from Wichita to just west of Pratt. http://www.forward54.org/ , but without Federal funding, I doubt that they will do it quickly. They might work on 10 mile stretches at a time every 5 years, so it will be quite slow.
They are four laning it from Liberal to the New Mexico border (in Oklahoma, most of it is already done). So there still may be hope that the Spirit Corridor can get the Federal Dollars needed to get it done. It has been approved by Congress and the DOT as a “high priority” corridor needed. That is the first step to get good amount of Federal monies for it.
The only opposition is the small towns the Spirit Corridor will overroute. They think it will kill their town, so they oppose the progess of the Spirit 54, just so a few passby’s will stay in their Hotels (they will anyways), so their aurgument has no merit, it actuality it would help their town. But don’t see it.
Good points Joe. IF a town responds to being ‘by-passed’ it can still do well. I pull off I-40 and get on old 66 to stop at motels/restaurants that have some character rather than the cookie-cutter ones on the freeway. The key is that the older ones need to stay current (wireless internet for example) and advertise.
I have seen, however, that Tucumcari has suffered as we by-pass their town for the new motels on I-40. The problem is that the in-town ones have not kept their places up; last time I stayed in one there I was disappointed in that they had let quality slip badly. This was a place that had been my regular stop on my route.
So, Greensburg, etc etc, CAN maintain if they give us reasons to go there. And, like you, I believe they can.
Whatever is said, DO NOT FORGET that Sen. Donovan is a car salesman that has his own agenda.Because of the nature of his automobile business, he is going to be negative and resistant to any other type of transportation improvements.Sen. Donovan also has special interest ties to OIL.
The smart towns along I-70 who grew out to the highway are thriving; the lazy ones aren’t.The same thing could happen on 54. Or, they could be like Hugoton who insisted the the highway not bypass the city. Now they have cattle trucks driving down main street slopping cow poop along the way.Dumbbells.
Absolutely right Dennis. A nice ‘draw’ to get me off the freeway; then some reason for me to venture on into town. Two ways to do it I have seen: a major exit or a loop (especially where there is the old road). Then make sure the local establishments maintain quality.
I’d really like to see rail travel extended south. Immediately, if I had my way. *grin*
I’ve been looking at various means of travel besides driving to Dallas this summer. Airfare and the routes are a farce and a nightmare. (I think I already posted about that elsewhere.) Amtrak is nearly as bad, but at least cheaper. To get to Dallas, I have to travel from Newton to Illinois (Springfield or Chicago), then on to Dallas. Considering the fact that I could have a travel buddy waiting in Springfield, it might not be a bad idea. Still, a direct route south would be ideal. And from there? Farther south, east and west would be nice.
I have a question about our railroads through Wichita. Does the railroad itself actually extend south through Oklahoma City and on to Ft. Worth?
If so, I guess what we are talking about is upgrading the railroad tracks to be safe for passenger travel so AMTRAK’s Western Flyer can run up through Wichita to Newton.
Of course, one problem is going to be what time would the Western Flyer reach Newton? Because the eastbound and westbound AMTRAK trains reach and depart Newton in the middle of the night, somewhere around 2 to 3 AM as I recall, how and at what time would passengers reach and depart Newton from Wichita and southward? I presume the passengers would have to change trains in Newton to go eastward or westward.
It wouldn’t be fun standing around outside the Newton railroad station on the empty streets of Newton in the middle of a cold snowy night. That’s when the dream of train travel quickly goes up in smoke and you opt for automobile travel again.
Historically, back in the late 1920’s and in the 1930’s, 1940’s, and 1950’s — U.S. Highways 54 and 66 competed for travelors from Chicago to Los Angelos. I think the two highways joined in about Albequerque (sp?). There, Highway 66 went on west to southern California and Highway 54 southerly to El Paso.
Highway 54 was said to be the shortcut road since it was a shorter route than Highway 66. Presumably, Highway 66 was a little warmer in winter since it was further south.
Both highways had lots of “cabin camps” and roadside signs some of which were still around in the 1950’s.
I was raised in Pratt and worked at a grocery store on East First Street/Highway 54. So I do recall the heavy transcontinental auto traffic passing through Pratt with the inevitable canvas water bags hanging on the front bumper for refilling radiators, not for drinking. License tags of every state passed through all day long in the summer months.
In the 1950’s, Highway 54 entered Pratt on East First Street and travelled down Pratt’s brick Main Street to Fifth Street where it turned west. Of course, in later years, Highway 54 was re-routed to travel straight through Pratt without the four block Main Street jog section.
Many of the original U.S. highways paralleled a railroad. From Wichita to Pratt, Highway 54 paralleled the Santa Fe Railroad’s local line to Pratt. Then from Pratt westward, Highway 54 paralleled the Main Line of the old Rock Island Railroad.
Many Pratt people remember famous people and movie stars traveling the Rock Island taking a quick stroll near the Rock Island Railroad station on North Main as the train stopped for water for the steam engines.
As I have said before in these blogs, in my opinion, back in the 1950’s, the Kansas Turnpike alignment should have turned westward on the north side of Wichita and then followed the Highway 54 alignment on westward to the southwest corner of Kansas to pick up the gas taxes from all those extra miles.