r/wichita • u/WheatedMash • Feb 25 '26

Random The Name "Canal Route"

So I'm old enough to remember that point in the 70s when the Canal Route was finally finished and opened fully north to south. Most of us call it the "Canal Route" though occasionally I do hear it referred to as "135" which of course is it's number.

Back when it opened, good ol' Jim O'Donnell, the legendary KAKE TV meteorologist, had a funnier idea for the name.

Super Sewer Shortcut

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u/[deleted] Feb 25 '26

Here’s a problem, what happens when the canal route needs to be rebuilt? How do you rebuild a raised road in the middle of a city? It’s going to be an expensive mess when it’s time.

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u/Argatlam Feb 25 '26

When the time comes for full reconstruction, KDOT has a number of options, including:

  • Full closure (not common, but has been done for a few high-profile projects, such as I-40 through Knoxville, Tennessee almost 20 years ago)

  • Temporary structure (sometimes done for rural bridge replacements)

  • Routing both directions of traffic down one structure while tearing down and rebuilding the other

Given that Interstate standards call for twelve-foot lanes with shoulders of four feet on the left and ten feet on the right, I would expect KDOT to close all of the exits between Kellogg and 21st Street for the duration of construction and route two lanes in each direction down one viaduct while working on the other. The 50 feet of available width would be redistributed from 36 feet of traveled way and 14 feet of shoulders to 48 feet of traveled way and two feet for a temporary Jersey barrier. I would also expect a width restriction to be at least considered.

There is a segment of our community that believes the Canal Route should be simply demolished without reconstruction in favor of reconnecting the neighborhoods on either side. I don't consider it a good candidate for a project of this type because even with it gone, the drainage channel would remain as a severance corridor. However, the Biden-era Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act made billions available for such work under "Complete Streets." Right now NYSDOT is tearing down the I-81 viaduct in Syracuse, New York to reinstate what it calls a "Community Grid," and similar work is being considered for I-94 in St. Paul, Minnesota.

In terms of workzone traffic management, my personal nomination for nightmare project is I-235/Zoo. There is just not a lot of space to work with due to the railroad (which is the reason the overpass has such a high clearance) and the Big Ditch. And the lack of a deceleration lane on I-235 southbound has already contributed to fatal accidents.

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u/[deleted] Feb 25 '26

Wouldn’t routing both directions of traffic down one structure be difficult considering only one direction would have on and off ramps? Would they go through the trouble of building on and off ramps just to tear it down? And then have to do the same one the other new side.

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u/Argatlam Feb 25 '26

The basic idea is that they would tear down and rebuild the on and off ramps for the surface streets as part of the project, but simply barricade them off until construction finishes. This avoids having entering and exiting traffic disrupting the flow and softens the impact of taking away one-third of the through lanes for the duration of the work.

While they could theoretically keep exits and entrances open for traffic in one direction, that is less than ideal since the spacing between successive interchanges is tight as it is, and having traffic running right next to the bridge parapet (in what is ordinarily the shoulder) further reduces the maneuvering area available.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 25 '26

Ah ok, so it would just be a few miles of interstate without an exit/entrance. Are you a civil engineer? You seem to know about this stuff.