KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Drivers in Kansas City can now cross the Missouri River in both directions using U.S. Highway 169 on the new Buck O’Neil Bridge.
The Missouri Department of Transportation opened the southbound lanes at about 12:45 p.m. Tuesday. Northbound drivers have been using the new bridge since January.
“The big, scary closed symbols on the map are gone,” Jesse Kilmon said after reviewing his GPS Tuesday afternoon.
Kilmon’s been visiting a friend in Kansas City for the past week and experienced multiple detours around the Buck O’Neil Bridge.
“It makes me elated," he said. "I wish it was open the whole time I was here. It would’ve made a lot of my back and forth a lot shorter."
Matt Staub is another person elated with the bridge’s near completion. He’s a board member of the River Market Community Association.
He’s thankful the new bridge will connect U.S. Highway 169 directly to Interstate 35. Previously, cars had to pass through a traffic signal to connect between the highways.
“We don’t need them idling and backing up downtown,” Staub said. “We can get them off the local street grid and focus on more of a local experience that we have down here.”
Part of the local experience Staub looks forward to is a pedestrian and bicyclist section of the bridge. MoDOT hopes to complete this part of the project by Dec. 1.
“Just as a recreational amenity, to walk up the bridge and see the river and the neighborhood behind you will be beautiful,” Staub predicted.
He’s disappointed the construction came at the cost of tearing down old buildings on the west side of the River Market neighborhood. He’s pushing for more long-term changes, like eliminating the north loop of Interstate 70. Several community groups have studied how to redesign that section of I-70.
“The neighborhood made a lot of sacrifices for this infrastructure, but we’re looking forward,” Staub explained. “It removes any more reasons for the north loop, the I-70 north section of the loop. Ultimately, our goal is to see that go away. That’s a legacy of really bad planning policies. It’s outdated and this gets us closer.”
Southbound drivers on U.S. Highway 169 can connect directly to southbound I-35. Northbound I-35 will connect directly to U.S. Highway 169 by Dec. 1.
The project cost $257 million and took four years to complete.
—
KSHB 41 reporter Charlie Keegan covers politics on both sides of the state line. If you have a story idea to share, you can send Charlie an email at charlie.keegan@kshb.com.
