Part of Buck O’Neil Bridge replacement project ending. What it means to downtown KC drivers
Drivers will once again be able to take Interstate 35 on the west side of the highway loop around Kansas City’s downtown this week, a Missouri Department of Transportation spokeswoman said Monday.
Crews will reopen northbound I-35 from the 12th Street exit to Interstate 70 before the morning rush hour Wednesday, said Lairyn McGregor, a spokeswoman for MoDOT’s Kansas City District.
That stretch of the downtown loop was closed in March as part of the Buck O’Neil Bridge replacement project so that crews could build a new retaining wall along I-35 and a new bridge over Sixth Street. Crews also rehabilitated the bridge that takes northbound I-35 to westbound I-70 during the closure.
Crews will also open a closed lane of westbound Interstate 670 in the area as well as the northbound I-35 ramp to eastbound I-70.
Prior to the reopening of that stretch of I-35, however, crews will need to do prep work on Tuesday night requiring the following closures:
- Beginning at 7 p.m., the existing northbound I-35 left lane closure will expand to a double left lane closure at West Pennway so that overhead sign covers and temporary striping can be removed.
- Beginning at 9 p.m., crews remove the double left lane closure and shift it a double right lane closure at West Pennway to remove overhead sign covers and traffic control measures.
- Once the work is completed, northbound I-35 will reopen between 12th Street and I-70. The work is expected to be finished early Wednesday.
Prior to the closure, about 23,950 cars, trucks and buses used the northbound stretch of I-35 in that area on weekdays, according to 2020 annual average weekday traffic volume. During the closure, traffic was detoured across I-670 on the south side of the downtown loop to I-70 on the east side.
While the reopening of that part of the downtown loop will likely be greeted as good news for drivers in the downtown Kansas City area, another long-term closure is on the horizon as part of the $220 million project to replace the aging Buck O’Neil Bridge, which carries U.S. 169 over the Missouri River near the Wheeler Downtown Airport.
Beginning in February, crews will close southbound U.S. 169 from the airport to Fifth Street in downtown. This closure will be in place until fall 2024.
The triple-arch Buck O’Neil bridge, a key connection between the Northland and downtown Kansas City, opened in 1956. While safe, the bridge formerly known as the Broadway Bridge is nearing the end of its projected lifespan.
The replacement bridge is expected to be completed in December 2024.
This story was originally published December 12, 2022 at 12:46 PM.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misstated when the stretch of Interstate 35 closed.
