Review of newly-widened Highway 7

I drove the newly-opened Highway 7 stretch between Hutchinson and St. Bonifacious for the first time this week.

I forgot how smooth a road can be after resurfacing. The old highway was rough and kept drivers from being too relaxed at the wheel. The new surface on the road is a distinct improvement. There seem to be little evidence of asphalt seems or breaks -- and it is a very smooth ride.

The extra passing lanes, however, are the best part. In two stretches, there are five lanes! Although I am not sure which cars have rights to the middle lane, it is nice to have the separation between four lanes of traffic.

After one roundabout, an extra lane is available for eastbound traffic. This appears to be available in case several vehicles including slower trucks and trailers enter to the east about the same time. This is a great feature, too. It allows traffic to sort itself out on a part of the highway likely to see some congestion and driver frustration if it were single lane in either direction.

The stretches with extra lanes make the highway safer and less stressful. Driving these sections was the oddest feeling. Highway 7 has always been stressful. The bottled up traffic drove motorists to make poor decisions like try to pass two or more cars at once. Watching the drama play out was gut-turning. Near collisions could be seen nearly every trip.

None of those feelings came up during the whole trip this week back and forth. In fact, it was so smooth, my speed crept up to 60 something. At that moment, a patrol car drove by. It was a reminder to watch my needle while driving on this smooth roadway.

Any thoughts from readers about the drive?