Speedway

2025-09-01
IN, IL, MO

The goal for today was to get to Kansas City to position myself to drive across Kansas tomorrow. The drive across Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri was particularly annoying. I tried to keep my speed within 7 MPH of the limit, but the limit was constantly changing. Sometimes it was just a change for normal safety reasons like a lot of exits close together, but mostly it was various construction projects. At different times I found myself impeding or racing traffic, depending on which speed limit I missed. Never knowing the current limit grinds on you after a while.

Indiana had the most irritating construction zone. After 11 miles of driving between the walls where the lower limit made sense, the next ten miles were the a lovely new three-lane interstate. To me it looked complete, but it still had the construction limits of 55. I wanted to open it up on this smooth highway. I think that's borderline entrapment.

I don't know if Missouri leads the nation in exit ramp road experiments. They may. I stopped for gas once today at a Loves, and when I came off the highway it was straight into a traffic circle with six or seven exits (highway on and off ramps, cross street, frontage roads). I took the cross street over the highway and then into a second similar circle. They worked exactly as they should so I give them a thumb's up and hope to see them in more places.

When I got to the exit with the hotel, I went up the ramp and then across the bridge over the interstate on the left hand side. That ended in a traffic light which, when green, allowed us to shift to the right side (crisscross). I can't say I've seen anything like it and I'm not convinced that level of complication is worth it compared to the circles. [Future note: this is actually more common than I realized; there's even a use of this pattern on 322 where it meets 222 in Lancaster County. Once you get used to the pattern it does seem a good idea.]

For an activity today I stopped at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. They have a nice collection of Indy cars (as you would expect) and a tour where you can go around the 2.5 mile track. So I can now say that I have done a lap at Indianapolis. In a bus. At 20 miles per hour. But it's a lap!

There is also a tradition of the winning driver "kissing the bricks." The bricks were the track surface after gravel but before asphalt. They have left a strip of bricks exposed for nostalgia after they paved over the rest. Fans get to "kiss the bricks" if they choose.