Kansas City’s truck-eating bridge will get a psychedelic new look. See the mural designs
From Venus flytraps to colorful jellyfish trucks, the famed Independence Avenue truck-eating bridge will get a facelift with themed murals.
Funded by a city grant, the four murals at the notorious Northeast landmark with a 12-foot clearance will be completed in August. The pieces imagine the 122-year-old bridge as a monster attacking innocent trucks.
Alex Eickhoff’s design shows a giant hippo ready to chomp on a truck. The Raytown-based muralist used bright colors and a simple composition to make the mural instantly recognizable to passers-by.
A former box truck driver himself, Eickhoff said truckers’ jobs are hard enough without an unusually low bridge in their way.
“I have a lot of sympathy for these truck drivers,” he said.
When putting the spray paint and latex paint on the wall, Eickhoff will have to look out for vehicles whizzing behind him.
He said he would try to “break my habit of just getting lost in the process and stepping back from my wall to look at it.”
The location has a benefit. Eickhoff said is getting “more eyes on my art, which is definitely a goal of mine as a public artist.”
Paying homage to notorious Kansas City landmark
The aim of the murals was to discourage graffiti and draw attention to the bridge’s low clearance, said Bobbi Baker-Hughes, president and CEO Northeast Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. Fifteen artists submitted 39 designs to a panel of neighborhood representatives.
The Independence Avenue bridge has become a Northeast Kansas City landmark, and an 18,000-member Facebook group is dedicated to it.
Videos of the bridge shearing off the top of trucks are popular on social media.
Earlier this year, the city installed plastic chimes to warn drivers of the 12-foot clearance. Less than a week later, a too-tall truck knocked down one of the safety devices.
Have more questions about oddities in the Kansas City area? Ask the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com.
This story was originally published June 27, 2024 at 4:13 PM.
