Popular Science lauds Springfield interchange

The Missouri Department of Transportation is getting accolades for an interchange design that has motorists driving on the wrong side of the road in Springfield.

Popular Science magazine named the diverging diamond interchange at Highway 13 and Interstate 44 in northwest Springfield as one of the 100 "fastest, biggest, safest, greenest and most powerful innovations of the year."

The design has drivers criss-crossing at traffic signals, giving left-turning vehicles a free left turn onto the intersecting roadway while other drivers can continue more easily through the interchange.

Popular Science cites Federal Highway Administration research that says the interchange allows 600 left turns per hour per lane, more than double the typical interchange.

The diverging diamond is popular in Europe, but the Springfield site marks the first time the concept has been used in the United States, according to MoDOT. The state is developing a diverging diamond interchange for the National Avenue and James River Freeway intersection in south Springfield, as well as interchanges in St. Louis and Kansas City.