Ramps along U.S. 50 in Lee’s Summit to close as part of bridge project at Chipman Road
A project to replace bridges at a busy interchange on U.S. 50 highway in Lee’s Summit gets underway Monday and drivers should anticipate limited excess in the area.
The project is expected to have significant impact on rush hour traffic, especially during the evenings. That area is one of the busiest interchanges in Lee’s Summit, with about 60,000 vehicles using U.S. 50 and 21,000 using Chipman Road each day.
The work is part of the project to replace bridges that carry U.S. 50 highway over Chipman Road. The bridges have reached the end of their service life and must be replaced, said Lairyn McGregor, a spokesperson for the Kansas City District of the Missouri Department of Transportation.
The project is part of the state’s $351 million Focus on Bridges Program which will repair or replace 250 bridges across the state.
In addition to the new bridges, the project will provide pedestrian access by including sidewalks on both sides of Chipman Road through the interchange.
Beginning Monday, ramps to and from the highway will be closed so that they can be widened. During the closures, access may be restricted to and from U.S. 50 and Chipman Road. There will be no signed detours and drivers must find alternate routes.
Here’s what drivers can expect:
- The ramp from westbound U.S. 50 to Chipman road will be closed Monday and remain closed until about 6 p.m. April 1.
- The ramp from Chipman Road to westbound U.S. 50 will be closed at 6 a.m. Wednesday and remain closed until about 6 p.m. April 5. This ramp could reopen on weekends, but will close again for work on weekdays.
- The ramp from Chipman to eastbound U.S. 50 will close at 6 a.m. April 6 and remain closed until 6 p.m. April 12. This ramp could reopen on weekends, but will close again for work on weekdays.
- The ramp from eastbound U.S. 50 to Chipman Road will close at 6 a.m. April 13 until April 18.
Beginning in mid- to late April, the bridges that carry U.S. 50 over Chipman Road will be closed so they can be replaced. An exact date will be announced later. While the bridges are being replaced, traffic will be routed around the closure via the entrance and exit ramps.
During construction, drivers will be able to turn right onto Chipman Road from both eastbound and westbound U.S. 50. Left turns, however, will not be allowed.
Also, eastbound U.S. 50 and the ramp from eastbound Interstate 470 to eastbound U.S. 50 will be reduced to one lane for merging purposes.
Drivers who travel through the area can expect Chipman Road, between Murray Road and Blue Parkway, to close around April 18 and remain closed until the bridges are completed in late July. Traffic will be detoured around the construction via Northwest Pryor Road and Northwest Blue Parkway.
Once the bridges are complete, work will shift to resurfacing Chipman Road and adding other improvements.
