Could we really travel I-70 at 700 mph? Missouri speaker thinks so

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Missouri has a real shot at landing a test track for the futuristic mode of transportation known as the “hyper loop.”

Missouri House Speaker Elijah Haahr of Springfield says he has talked with executives of Virgin Hyperloop One over the past few months. Haahr appointed a blue-ribbon task force to review the possibilities that Missouri could not just land the test strip, but get an operational hyperloop between Kansas City and St. Louis.

“If you look at transportation historically, Missouri laid the first mile of interstate, we had the first steel suspension bridge. We’ve always been sort of at the forefront of transportation,” Haahr tells reporters during a recent visit in St. Joseph. “I think there’s a real possibility that in 50 years, the hyperloop is sort of the next innovation in transportation, so having that first test track and perhaps the first full track in Missouri, I think, would be critical for our state as being a leader in innovation and transportation.”

The blue-ribbon panel should have something to the Speaker soon. Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer of Parkville, who represents the greater St. Joseph area, is on the panel.

At present, Virgin is testing Hyperloop One in Nevada.

The hyperloop proposes transporting commuters in pods elevated magnetically along a track at speeds of up to 700 miles per hour. Creators believe it could easily make the trek from Kansas City to St. Louis in less than half an hour, making it possible for residents of one city to visit the other in the evening and return home later than night.

The next step for Virgin is to build a longer test track, six to 12 miles long. The company plans to request proposals soon. Haahr wants Missouri to land the test track with an eye on eventually bringing the first, full city-to-city track to the state, along I-70 between Kansas City and St. Louis. He expects the first full-scale track to be built in India.

Haahr says he understands the skepticism that arises when you suggest the possibility of traveling up to 700 miles per hour in pods on a hyperloop track.

“You know, a lot of things when you first hear about it, it sounds futuristic, it sounds too good to be true, it sounds unbelievable,” according to Haahr. “If you think about transportation, in the 1950s and 60s when we were building our interstate system, that same interstate system, we drive the same cars at the same speeds. We fly planes at the same speeds. Innovation has not really kept up in the transportation space”

Haahr is optimistic Missouri could prove to be the site Virgin chooses.

“I believe that Missouri is in the top three states in the country that has a chance to get this,” Haahr says. “I’ve been out to the Mojave Desert to see the first test track. We’ve kept in really good contact with Virgin. We’ve been one of the leaders the entire time on trying to bring this to Missouri.”