World War I event at Liberty Memorial will close streets for hours in the area

The World War I centennial event in Kansas City on Thursday will mean headaches for some commuters and others who will discover closed roads near Liberty Memorial.

The barricades will go up at 3 a.m. A city press release has detour information and access points to nearby businesses.

Security measures are being taken because of the number of foreign dignitaries that will be attending the ticketed event at the National World War I Museum and Memorial.

 

These streets will be closed:

▪ Main Street between 20th Street and Grand Boulevard

▪ Pershing Road between Broadway and Grand

▪ Kessler Road from Pershing to Wyandotte Street

▪ 27th Street between Main and Grand

▪ 29th Street between Broadway and Wyandotte

▪ Wyandotte between Memorial Drive/Kessler and 31st Street

The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority posted a schedule of bus reroutes that will be in effect from 4 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

People with tickets to the 11 a.m. commemoration are urged to walk or take public transportation, such as a bus or the streetcar. There will be no public parking in or around the memorial and no event parking at Union Station.

People must enter at Main and Pershing and be on the grounds by 9 a.m. The gate opens at 6 a.m. RideKC buses, with handicapped access, will shuttle people to the security gate on memorial grounds.

People must have their ticket and a photo ID. All available tickets have been reserved.

There will be no seating provided at the event. People will be allowed to bring lawn chairs, cushions and blankets.

Umbrellas are not allowed, but the National Weather Service forecast is for a sunny sky downtown with a high temperature of 57 degrees.

People may not bring food or beverages to the event but free water will be available.

Other items that are not allowed include weapons of any kind, backpacks or purses. No animals other than service animals are allowed. Camera tripods also are not allowed.

The centennial event will be streamed live with a link at the United States World War One Centennial Commission website. C-SPAN3 will record the event for airing at 9 a.m. Sunday.

This story was originally published April 4, 2017 at 2:19 PM with the headline "World War I event at Liberty Memorial will close streets for hours in the area."