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.