This Kansas City road project could cause ‘delays like you’ve never seen before’

Highway officials are warning drivers to prepare for delays the likes of which they haven’t seen before in the Kansas City metro area.

How bad could it be? Traffic backups could create delays as long as 75 minutes — and that’s if there are no crashes.

“It’s a significant project and it’s going to have a significant impact on traffic,” said Jacob Wilson, a resident engineer for the Missouri Department of Transportation in Lee’s Summit.

The warning comes as the Missouri Department of Transportation is about to enter the final phase of its extensive Interstate 470 bridge rehabilitation project. The project began last year and involves repairing 15 bridges along I-470 on the southeast corner of the Kansas City metro area that have been in service for about 50 years.

Drivers will get a taste this weekend of what’s to come. Crews will reduce Interstate 470 to one lane between 39th Street and the Little Blue River between 8 p.m. Friday and 5 a.m. Monday.

The left lane closure will allow crews to do pavement work in preparation of the final phase of the project, which will begin in mid-August. That phase will focus on bridges at the I-470/Missouri 291/Interstate 70 interchange in Independence as well as U.S. 40 highway and Little Blue River.

The project requires I-470 to be reduced to one lane in both directions from 39th Street to just north of Northeast Lakewood Boulevard. The bridges are relatively close, in less than a half mile section.

“When we take those two lanes down to one, it really restricts the flow of traffic,” Wilson said. “We really expect the backups to extend to a significant distance, potentially a mile or two down the road.”

The worst backups are expected to be during the morning and afternoon rush hours.

“It’s not going to be like that all day long,” Wilson said. “As people find their way around it, it will even out a little bit.”

With about 60,000 vehicles that use that stretch of I-470 a day, the final phase of the two-year project is expected to have the biggest impact on traffic.

“On this particular project, we have not seen that type of delays,” Wilson said. “We have seen that in other parts of the state, depending on the type of work. It’s not unheard of, but it’s very rare.”

During the work, the loop ramps to and from I-70 will be closed for 20 to 25 days.

The work on the bridge over I-70 is expected to be completed within two months. The whole project is expected to wrap up in November.

Transportation officials are urging drivers to avoid the area during the project. Those who must travel that way should plan ahead and leave early.

Possible alternative routes include Missouri 7, U.S. 40, U.S. 350 and I-435.

During the work, drivers are urged to be patient, pay attention to the road and be considerate to fellow motorists. Also, people should use the Zipper merge, a concept where traffic uses both lanes then takes turns merging at the lane closure.

“This really decreases the length of the backup, which is safer for the traveling public,” Wilson said.

“We know this work zone is disruptive to people’s commutes and it can impact their lives, but we are really doing the work to keep these bridges and structures in service for another couple decades at least,” Wilson said.

This story was originally published July 26, 2018 at 4:56 PM.