400 needs 4 lanes

[Wilma]

We went to Wichita yesterday, joined the heavy traffic at the junction of 99 and 400.  Didn't get out of it until we were back at the junction.  I am amazed at the volume of traffic that 400 carries now and wonder if it is like this all the way to Joplin.

[pam]

Pretty much Wilma, everytime we come back there it thins out a little between Parsons and Fredonia sometimes but it's pretty steady between Joplin and Parsons. I'm always glad when we get to the passin lanes over by Fredonia, seems like we always get stuck behind somebody goin 40 lol

[Tobina+1]

I never drive to Joplin via 400, so I don't know how the traffic is that direction.  But I do agree that 400 can get very hairy going to/from Wichita!  I like the passing lanes, but some people either don't know how to use them or are too impatient to wait for them.  I used to be one of those people (too impatient), but have slowed down considerably (saving gas and saving lives and not as brave).
I enjoy going to Joplin going South to Sedan and taking 166 over.  East side of Coffeyville is still depressing, but East of Coffeyville is fun to drive through the towns.  I'll sometimes stop and get pecans in Chetopa.  Not a ton of truck traffic going that way, either.

[pam]

I like goin that way too Tobina, Joe likes 400 tho cause it's faster. (unless you get stuck behind somebody that is ) My youngest son lives in Baxter so we go that way more now than we used to.

[Tobina+1]

Yeah, I live West of Howard, and if I take the back-roads to Moline and go 99 South from there, it is actually faster or the same amount of time.  Otherwise, I have to drive 7 miles into Howard, and then 12 miles North to 400... just to veer back South.  Normally when I go to Joplin, I have to stay on I-44 to get to the stockyards East of Joplin a ways, so it doesn't make sense to go into Joplin city by any other route, either. 
Although, I think I only took 400 once... and ended up taking some wacko route towards the end and going clear to Pittsburg (which is actually where 400 goes, and then turns south), but it was NOT faster, b/c 400 South from Pittsburg back to the interstate is a SLOW road!  So maybe I need to try again with a different route.  But, then again, I'm not going to Joplin much anymore.

[pam]

Yeah 400 south from Pittsburg is slow, specially since they opened that new casino! Talk about a traffic mess, they built a roundabout and nobody knows how to use it! Wall to wall traffic when we went thru there the other day, plus they had a DUI checkpoint set up right past it. It was a nightmare, figure they are gonna have to rethink that one a little. We live about 40-45 miles southeast of Joplin, in fact about 14 more miles and we'd be in Arkansas It's actually faster for us to go up 71 to Webb City and go east from there to Pittsburg out thru Asbury. That's if we go 400. Kinda just depends on how Joe feels like goin lol sometimes we even go over thru Quawpaw and then go north.

[sixdogsmom]

Although 400 is lightyears ahead of what K96 used to be, I agree it should be four lanes, and could never figure out why they didn't build four lanes when they were building it. Just another example of faulty infrastructure that will wear out before its' time because of overuse. 400 is a wonderful highway for the traffic of 1970, but the traffic of 2010 is just too much.

[greatguns]

The reason being that little thing called POLITICS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[pam]

Actually I think it was a funding question, but they kept the right of way so they could add the other two lanes later if I remember right. But I could be wrong

[greatguns]

Who controls the funding of US Highways, and who determines what the federal funds will be spent on?