These bridges near downtown Kansas City could be closed for park over I-670 South Loop

A new report shows which streets could be closed over Interstate 670 in downtown Kansas City when the future South Loop park is complete.

Officials have released a draft environmental assessment detailing the potential impacts of the South Loop Project plan, which will cap the south section of the downtown highway loop from Wyandotte Street to Grand Boulevard and place a new 5.5-acre park on top, connecting downtown and the rest of the city to the south while turning the roadway underneath into a tunnel.

Plans for the South Loop park have been in the works for years and took a major step forward in December, with the announcement of a $31.4 million state grant to help cover the costs of the $217 million project, matching city contributions. Planning work continues, and construction could begin this year.

The environmental assessment considers multiple options for how to configure the proposed park, given the existing streets running over the interstate: Baltimore Avenue, Main Street, Walnut Street and Grand Boulevard. The study lands on two preferred possibilities: either closing the Baltimore Avenue bridge and creating a “superblock” of park space to the west of Main Street, or closing Walnut Street over the highway and creating a “superblock” to the east.

Truman Road, running parallel to the highway, would see a lane reduction to improve safety in both directions. If the Baltimore Avenue option is selected, the aging Walnut Street bridge would still be replaced.

The study also considered removing all but the Main Street bridge, creating two “superblocks,” or removing no bridges and leaving four blocks, but the impact of those two options did not measure as well in the assessment and were eliminated.

Final selection of which option to build will happen after officials review feedback about the environmental assessment, according to the document.

The public is invited to offer feedback about the South Loop Project environmental review, including by email at info@kcsouthloopproject.org, through Feb. 23.

Project leaders will host a public open house about the environmental assessment from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 13 at the Kirk Family YMCA, 222 W. 11th St.

This step in the process needs to happen before design and construction can officially start.

The project’s final construction timeline is still to be announced. By December, local leaders had raised at least $141 million for the project through a mix of federal, state, local and private funding and were working to secure a $65 million federal loan by March 2025. There was no update about the funding status as of last week, a city spokesperson said.

President Donald Trump’s administration issued a memo in late January to freeze spending on federal grants and loans. The freeze has been blocked in court, and the memo was retracted. It was not immediately clear whether the proposed freeze could impact Kansas City’s request for the federal loan to help pay for the South Loop park.

This story was originally published February 5, 2025 at 6:00 AM.