Couldn't access the site for the past few days, but as of Thursday, 1/10, five more sites had opened, making 12 for the month and 72 total: Flagler, CO (I-70, between Limon and Burlington); Vinita, OK (I-44, between Tulsa and Joplin); Effingham, IL (I-70, between St. Louis and Indianpolis); Cambridge, OH (I-70, between Columbus and Wheeling/Pittsburgh); and Orlando, FL (Jct. U.S. 441 & S.R. 482, near I-4).
The increased number of sites is really starting to connect up multiple urban areas now. For instance, although it's not really practical use yet, you can now drive (with great or extreme care) from Green Bay or Indianapolis or Denver to OKC or even DFW. Orlando opens up Jax.-Tampa, Gainesville-W.Palm Beach, etc. Although I expect some of these were hold-overs from December that would have completed but for the holidays, 12 in 1/3rd of a month is a very encouraging pace. If the weather allows, I'd think they might hit 20 this month, maybe more, and to my surprise a high proportion of these new ones have still been north of the freeze line.
BTW, when I say a trip will take 'care', this is roughly what I mean. I take the Bolt's 217 mile HWY range as a base, and assume that any leg will be from QC to QC, charging to 80% SoC and keeping a 15% (but not less than 30 mile) reserve. For the Bolt that works out to a range of 141 miles, but that's before any reductions. Obviously, the first leg of the day you will probably start with a higher SoC, so can go further. I assume that EPA HWY range equates to about 65 mph steady state cruising, give or take about 3 mph for variation between more or less efficient cars. Every 5 mph above 65 reduces the range about 20 miles. So, while these numbers aren't fixed in stone and vary with conditions and the particular vehicle, here's about what I mean:
Legs of
<80 miles. Unless you're cruising at 80+ with the heat/def. on max. and a headwind/wet road/climb, you've got no worries.
80<100 miles. Generally no worries.
100-120 miles. Might need some care. (poss. need 1 technique)
120-140 miles. Will need some care. (1, poss. 2 techniques)
140-160 miles. Will need care. (2, poss. 3 techniques)
160-185 miles. Will need great care. (3 or more techniques)
186+ miles. Will need extreme care. (Will probably need everything).
The range-stretching techniques in question are:
Reducing speed below the speed limit/flow of traffic.
Charging above 80%.
Limited/no use of HVAC (incl. use of seat/steering wheel heat/cool) other than fan.
As above, no heaters.
Gentle, smooth driving.
Only in ideal conditions.
Speed reduction so great that freeway driving is unsafe/illegal, so some portion of the trip will require traveling on parallel U.S./state/county highways with slower speeds.
Using some of emergency reserve.
