Traffic woes coming as demolition date set for Missouri 152 bridge at I-35 in Liberty
The end is near for the Missouri 152 bridge over Interstate 35 in Liberty.
The Missouri Department of Transportation announced that it planned to close and demolish the heavily traveled bridge beginning the evening of May 31.
A new bridge is expected to be completed in the fall.
The $26.2 million project will likely have significant impact on traffic through the area. During the period where no bridge is available, detours send drivers 3 to 12 miles around the construction, adding up to 16 minutes to their travel times, and possibly more during rush hour.
The bridge, which connects residents to retail centers in Liberty and Kansas City, North, will close at 10 p.m. May 31, although drivers should expect delays and lane closures starting as early as 7 p.m. while crews prepare to demolish the bridge.
The demolition is expected to be completed by 5 a.m. June 3.
Both northbound and southbound I-35 traffic will detour on the ramps leading to and from the bridge during the demolition.
During construction, eastbound Missouri 152 traffic in the immediate area will detour south on I-35 to the U.S. 69/Vivion Road exit and then back north on I-35 to the Missouri 152 exit.
Eastbound Missouri 152 traffic west of Interstate 435 will detour north on I-435 to Missouri 291 and then south to Kansas Street.
Westbound Kansas Street/Missouri 152 traffic in the immediate area will detour north on I-35 to Missouri 291 and then back south on I-35 to the Missouri 152 exit.
Traffic on, or east of, Missouri 291 will detour north on Missouri 291 and then south on I-35 to the Missouri 152 exit.
Crews will replace the existing bridge with a half diverging diamond interchange. There will be 11 lanes for traffic on the interchange with most of the lanes handling the east and west traffic flow, as well as the traffic exiting from northbound I-35 or headed onto southbound I-35.
There also will be three lanes that will handle traffic exiting from southbound I-35 onto eastbound Missouri 152/Kansas Street and eastbound Missouri onto northbound I-35.
The project includes improvements to Kansas Street and Missouri 291 by widening the street and adding turn lanes. It will also include a multiple-use path along the south side of the Missouri 152 to address bicycle and pedestrian needs along the corridor.
