Buck O’Neil Bridge in Kansas City to close. Here’s how vehicles will cross Missouri River
Traffic will stop crossing the Missouri River over the Buck O’Neil Bridge near downtown Kansas City’s northwest corner on Monday, the Missouri Department of Transportation announced.
Between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monday, crews will shift traffic from the existing bridge to one of the newly built river bridges, said Brooke Rohlfing, a spokesperson for MoDOT’s Kansas City District.
During the shift, drivers headed north on U.S. 169 might encounter one closed lane and flagging operations. They also might see short-term closures at Broadway Boulevard and Fifth Street.
Once the traffic is shifted onto the new bridge, northbound drivers will make a slight left at Broadway and Fifth Street. For the time being, the new southbound bridge will be used to carry northbound traffic over the river.
Meanwhile, southbound U.S. 169 drivers will continue to be detoured via Interstate 29/35 over the Bond Bridge on the northeast corner of downtown. For the past year, southbound U.S. 169 has been closed at the Wheeler Downtown Airport.
The switchover is needed so that work can continue on the replacement bridges. Because of the way the new bridges are aligned, crews can’t do any more work until the north arch of the existing bridge is demolished.
History of the Buck O’Neil Bridge
The traffic switch brings to an end of an era in Kansas City. The iconic triple-arch, steel-truss bridge opened in 1956 as a toll bridge run by Kansas City. The bridge, built for $12 million, generated nearly $40 million in tolls before they were ended in 1991. The city transferred ownership of the bridge to MoDOT in 1992.
In 2016, the bridge, which was formerly known as the Broadway Bridge, was renamed to honor popular Kansas City sports legend Buck O’Neil in 2016.
The bridge, which was nearing the end of its projected life span, served as a key regional connection between downtown Kansas City and the Northland communities, which have changed significantly since the bridge was built. Nearly 50,000 vehicles a day had used the bridge.
This story was originally published January 29, 2024 at 7:22 AM.
