I-44 Superchargers in Missouri-maybe talked to the right person finally

efusco · Oct 15, 2014

Was speaking with Hunter at the St. Louis Sales department today on an unrelated matter when he enthusiastically mentioned to me that he'd been speaking with the person in charge of locating Superchargers and had suggested Rolla, MO as a location on I-44. I told him that while Rolla was a fair location that I had better ideas but that when I'd emailed ownership I'd just gotten a generic reply. I told him what I was thinking and why and he felt that my thoughts were very insightful (given that I drive those roads on a monthly basis at least, both East and West of Springfield, MO. He suggested I put the thoughts in writing and email him and he promised to present them to the Tesla Supercharger dude at their next meeting (next week I think). Anyway, here's what I sent him. I think it makes a lot of sense because it connects St. Louis to Tulsa with just 2 Superchargers and also places one at the intersection of I-44/I-49 which will become a major N/S corridor over the next several years when completed.

Hunter,
Just following up our recent discussion on my ideal proposal for the I-44 Supercharger corridor.

I think the ideal plan would be to try our best to connect St.Louis to Tulsa and points South and West. To that end it is important to consider the challenges that travel in the hills of Missouri, particularly during colder weather provides.

I suggest the following in addition to the already planned charger in the St.Louis area....

1)Fort Leonard Wood, MO - Approximately 145 miles from St. Louis would allow travel with a MS 60kWh or 85kWh even in very bad conditions at interstate speeds. Ft. Wood is also just 86 miles from Jefferson City and 117 miles from Columbia, Missouri. It is then, also, just 98 miles to Springfield, MO.

2)Joplin, MO - Joplin is just 166 miles from Fort Leonard Wood (a bit less than that to the I-49 intersection) and just another 139 miles to Tulsa, OK (where there would, presumably, be a supercharger soon). From there connecting to points North, South and West are quite easy. Also, adding a SC near the I-44/I-49 intersection allows access to/from Kansas City to Fayetteville and Fort Smith Arkansas and even to Little Rock for an 85kWh vehicle and eventually I-49 will be finished all the way to Dallas and New Orleans, so will be a major North/South corridor.

I know that Springfield was marked on the predicted map, and I hear that Rolla is under consideration, and while either of those would be OK, it limits my access to Tulsa (just a tad too far from Springfield) and is of no benefit to anyone else in the state other than those doing the STL->SGF trips.

I hope you'll consider these thoughs, I have spent many hours driving the roads of Missouri in my Model S over the last 2 years and bemoaning the lack of infrastructure to allow me easy access to the various locations. I think these two SCs on I-44 will be a huge benefit and open up lots of other opportunities to connect the Midwest going forward. Thanks for your time and consideration.

Ddowns2050 · Oct 15, 2014

Those locations sound good to me. I hope they do it sooner rather than later. I need to travel to St. Louis periodically and don't know whether to try it or not in the winter. It will probably depend on the weather. I also would like to be able to go all the way to OKC and back to Springfield.

Fluke · Oct 30, 2015

Saw this story on a possible Rolla, MO supercharger. Also mentions Springfield.

Tesla to consider charging station in Rolla - News - The Rolla Daily News - Rolla, MO - Rolla, MO

strider · Oct 30, 2015

Hear hear! Joplin or the I-44/I-49 interchange makes WAY more sense than Springfield. FLW is also a fine choice. Hope they take your advice.

efusco · Oct 30, 2015

Thank goodness!
While I agree I would prioritize the I-44/I49 spot over Springfield, Springfield still makes sense with the amount of tourist traffic going down Hwy 65 to Branson and back. I hate that it'll be Spring before it is installed, but it is reassuring to have some sort of target date to finally be able to look forward to...Rolla is an important location for me, esp. as my battery degrades.

basf_audio · Oct 30, 2015

I was just at the Tesla factory in Freemont today. Passed along all of our enthusiastic responses to finally getting THREE super chargers in Missouri. Especially considering they're opening up a 20-bay SC soon just down the street at their new delivery center. I also shared the desire for getting I55 to Memphis buttoned up as well. But I'll crack open another thread for that

This was is all about I44!

GRA · Oct 31, 2015

Don't live in the area and will likely never travel there, but looking at the map and checking distances some time back and figuring the requirements for a 60 or Model 3 in winter, Rolla, Springfield, Joplin and Tulsa seemed the obvious locations needed to join STL to OKC: 106 miles, 112 miles, 71 miles, 113 miles, 107 miles. Easy with 80% charges, or 90% when things are really ugly. Why would anyone want to skimp with only two in Missouri?

Ddowns2050 · Oct 31, 2015

I actually just drove from Springfield thru KC, then across Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, then Oklahoma to Missouri. The only place that was going to be close was from OKC to home. I ended up driving to Perry OK. From there it was 273 miles to my house. I have an 85D, set the cruise and now auto pilot on 70 MPH and followed trucks doing about 65 mph with the distance on the cruise set on 6. I made it with 13 miles remaining. I would have stopped at downstream casino and used their RV hook ups(about 80 miles from home) if I would have seen I would not have made it. I drove the last 60 miles at 70 MPH without following anyone. But I-44 desperately needs superchargers. There is no way I could do this in the winter. We love to go see the Thunder in OKC and the Cardinals and the Blues games in St. Louis, so I can't wait until they get superchargers on I-44!

strider · Nov 4, 2015

Tulsa SC confirmed for Catoosa at the Hard Rock Casino, NE edge of town.
CNB to install electric car chargers at Hard Rock

That's 168 miles to Springfield. I think Evan's suggestions of Joplin and FLW make more sense than Springfield and Rolla. But I do see the Branson angle...

efusco · Nov 4, 2015

strider said:
Tulsa SC confirmed for Catoosa at the Hard Rock Casino, NE edge of town.
CNB to install electric car chargers at Hard Rock

That's 168 miles to Springfield. I think Evan's suggestions of Joplin and FLW make more sense than Springfield and Rolla. But I do see the Branson angle...

That's a great location for me! We can hit that on the way into town and top up on the way out of town and make it all the way home quite easily. (About 180 miles from/to my house) Won't even need Joplin right away.

Father Bill · Nov 4, 2015

basf_audio said:
I was just at the Tesla factory in Freemont today. Passed along all of our enthusiastic responses to finally getting THREE super chargers in Missouri. Especially considering they're opening up a 20-bay SC soon just down the street at their new delivery center. I also shared the desire for getting I55 to Memphis buttoned up as well. But I'll crack open another thread for that This was is all about I44!

Where did you find info on the new SC? Thanks for any info!

Peace,
Father Bill

ItsNotAboutTheMoney · Nov 4, 2015

efusco said:
That's a great location for me! We can hit that on the way into town and top up on the way out of town and make it all the way home quite easily. (About 180 miles from/to my house) Won't even need Joplin right away.

Messages like that make me smile, especially when it's an early adopter.

Cottonwood · Feb 1, 2016

Did anyone see this article?
Tesla to consider charging station in Rolla - News - The Rolla Daily News - Rolla, MO - Rolla, MO

Pretty solid discussion by a Rolla Municipal Utilities Staff Engineer to the Board of Public Works about an 8-stall Supercharger at Bandana’s Bar-B-Q, 1705 Martin Spring Drive:

In her report to the Board of Public Works Tuesday, Rolla Municipal Utilities Staff Engineer Vicki Cason reported that Tesla Motors officials had asked about the possibility of installing a large transformer at Bandana’s Bar-B-Q, 1705 Martin Spring Drive.

That transformer will power four superchargers and each supercharger will have two stations, so as many as eight cars could be hooked up at one time.

From Rolla, MO Building Permits, there was an electrical permit issued at that location.

1/4/2016 — Commercial Flat Fees — Commercial Electric Service — 1705 Martin Springs Drive — ARLENE MARIE TRUST SCIORTINO — TO BE DETERMINED — EL2016-00210 — $ 0.00 — $85.00
1

This is not conclusive evidence, but pretty darn good. I would consider that is is worthy of a "blue dot" on supercharge.info but we will see if BlueShift agrees...

There are also references in that Rolla Daily News Article to Tesla indicating to the Rolla General Manager that there will be a Supercharger in Springfield, MO:

General Manager Rodney Bourne said the company is building charging stations at Springfield and St. Louis, and halfway between, which is Rolla.

efusco · Feb 1, 2016

Cottonwood said:
Did anyone see this article?
Tesla to consider charging station in Rolla - News - The Rolla Daily News - Rolla, MO - Rolla, MO

Pretty solid discussion by a Rolla Municipal Utilities Staff Engineer to the Board of Public Works about an 8-stall Supercharger at Bandana’s Bar-B-Q, 1705 Martin Spring Drive:

From Rolla, MO Building Permits, there was an electrical permit issued at that location.

This is not conclusive evidence, but pretty darn good. I would consider that is is worthy of a "blue dot" on supercharge.info but we will see if BlueShift agrees...

There are also references in that Rolla Daily News Article to Tesla indicating to the Rolla General Manager that there will be a Supercharger in Springfield, MO:

Yea, the article is old and we had seen that (probably a different thread somewhere), but the electrical permit is new information, and much welcomed, thanks for sharing that! They've also permitted the Hard Rock Casino site East of Tulsa which is a much needed piece of the chain and then the Joplin is maybe more crucial than the Springfield charger since it ties both I-44 and I-49.

Cottonwood · Feb 1, 2016

efusco said:
Yea, the article is old and we had seen that (probably a different thread somewhere), but the electrical permit is new information, and much welcomed, thanks for sharing that! They've also permitted the Hard Rock Casino site East of Tulsa which is a much needed piece of the chain and then the Joplin is maybe more crucial than the Springfield charger since it ties both I-44 and I-49.

Joplin looks like a good pairing with Springfield! It looks like Tesla could make I-44 work with a single Supercharger in Mt Vernon, but with Springfield mentioned and the cross-road advantage of Joplin, it seems like Rolla, Springfield, Joplin, and Catoosa (Tulsa) are the good bet for the I-44 Supercharger locations.

I-44 Supercharger Predictions — Google Maps

Update: Looks like BlueShift agrees: Rolla is now a blue dot on supercharge.info

efusco · Feb 1, 2016

Cottonwood said:
Joplin looks like a good pairing with Springfield! It looks like Tesla could make I-44 work with a single Supercharger in Mt Vernon, but with Springfield mentioned and the cross-road advantage of Joplin, it seems like Rolla, Springfield, Joplin, and Catoosa (Tulsa) are the good bet for the I-44 Supercharger locations.

I-44 Supercharger Predictions — Google Maps
View attachment 109951

Update: Looks like BlueShift agrees: Rolla is now a blue dot on supercharge.info

Yes, Springfield is a bit of a crossroads too, though not with a major interstate...but Highway 65 goes down to Branson, MO and on to the heart of Arkansas.

Cottonwood · Feb 1, 2016

As a note of nostalgia, supercharging I-44 will complete the virtual supercharging of historic route 66!

From Historic Route 66:

It's amazing how many of the cities and towns shown on that graphic, that define Historic Route 66, have or will have a Supercharger!

cpa · Feb 1, 2016

Cottonwood said:
As a note of nostalgia, supercharging I-44 will complete the virtual supercharging of historic route 66!

From Historic Route 66:
View attachment 109954

It's amazing how many of the cities and towns shown on that graphic, that define Historic Route 66, have or will have a Supercharger!

And then, and only then, will we Tesla drivers be able to get our kicks! (Perhaps with the soothing voice of Nat King Cole playing on our audio. . . .)

HookBill · Feb 2, 2016

I am really looking forward to the stretch between OKC and STL to complete. This would really make a road trip from SoCal to Indy a shorter and more enjoyable one for me.

Johnobee · Feb 4, 2016

That's awesome, I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on a Model S, or maybe X, addressing the I-44 corridor makes the decision much easier.

I-44 Superchargers in Missouri-maybe talked to the right person finally

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