‘Little impact’ on traffic hoped for as work starts on I-435 bridge at Missouri River
Drivers who rely on Interstate 435 to get over the Missouri River on Kansas City’s east side will need to get ready for possible traffic delays for the next two years.
A $32 million rehabilitation project is about to start making repairs to the bridge that carries I-435 over the Missouri River and connects Jackson and Clay counties, according to the Missouri Department of Transportation.
Prep work gets underway Monday with construction expected to begin Aug. 23. Traffic through the area will be reduced from three to two lanes in both directions for the duration of the project, according the transportation department.
The work is expected to be completed in December 2021.
“We’re hoping it will have very little impact on traffic,” said Markl Johnson, a spokesman for MoDOT in Kansas City.
Work will begin on the northbound lanes first. To maintain two open lanes, one lane of traffic will be shifted onto one southbound lane, Johnson said.
Traffic is expected to flow through the area much more smoothly than at the I-435 and Missouri 210 interchange project, which had multiple merge and access points, Johnson said. Merge points will be located well in advance of the project.
It may take another two to three minutes to get through the construction zone, Johnson said.
Drivers who want to avoid the work zone can use alternate routes over the river, including the Chouteau and Bond bridges to the west and the Missouri 291 bridge to the east.
About 81,500 vehicles use the I-435 bridge each day. Many are tractor-trailers, because of the industrial area near the I-435 and Missouri 210 interchange, according to the transportation department.
During the project, crews will replace the bridge’s deck, reinforce its structural steel and repair the substructure of the aging bridge, which was built in 1972.
Crews will also make repairs necessitate by the erosion of soil around the bridge’s piers in the river.
The work is getting underway just as the transportation department completes the nearby I-435 and Missouri 210 diverging diamond interchange.
The timing of the projects was done to complete as much work in the area as quickly as possible without staging multiple projects over a longer period, according to the transportation department.
Once completed, the department expects only routine maintenance should be needed in the area for the next 25 to 30 years.
During the bridge rehab project, transportation officials are asking drivers to slow down and pay attention while passing through work zones.
