INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — Five bridges across Independence are currently closed after being deemed unsafe and several others need imminent repairs, or possible replacement, before meeting the same fate, including one that’s already partially closed.
City officials say the existing bridge replacement program is underfunded and would take 100 years to catch up with the financing needed to address that infrastructure need, so they are asking voters to approve a bond issue to pay for the repairs.
“We do have a funding mechanism, and we have been keeping work up on our bridges and stuff, but it's getting to a point, with as many bridges that we have, that we need to have this boost of income,” Independence City Council Member John Perkins said.
A Kentucky Road bridge over Rock Creek in western Independence has been closed for years. The deck has a massive hole with exposed rebar and the concrete piles that hold up the span are degrading.
“This bridge being shut down, it should be another access point to the homes north of (US) 24 Highway, which can bring traffic all the way back down through here to 24 highway,” Perkins said.
Instead, the area around the closed bridge has become a dumping ground, but it’s more than an inconvenience and an eyesore.
“We need these bridges to be intact so that we can respond as quickly and safely as we can to any emergency within the city limits,” Independence Fire Chief Jimmy Walker said.
Fire and ambulance crews, particularly in western Independence, often have to navigate detours caused by bridge closures that slow response times.
“Obviously. when a road is out, it's going to require us to go on alternate routes,” Walker said. “If the quickest point between A and B is a straight line, with these bridges out, sometimes it doesn't afford us that opportunity.”
Minutes matter when there’s a medical emergency or a house fire.
“We've had nothing that I know of that's been catastrophic, but — let's not kid ourselves — it's a matter of time in the business we're in,” Walker said. “It's not a matter of if something happens but when it happens.”
Another bridge along Kentucky Avenue spanning Mill Creek also has been closed due to safety concerns along with the Heidelberger, Lexington and Overton bridges.
The Lee’s Summit, Main Street and Noland Road bridges over railroad tracks also are slated for repair along with the Lake City, Southside Boulevard, Valley View and Wilson Avenue bridges and the RD Mize Bridge over the Trace Trail.
After closing the southbound lanes of the Crysler Avenue bridge, Independence added it to the planned project, which also will repair or replace 97 culverts around the city.
The Independence City Council voted in December to put three questions asking for $197 million in general-obligation, or GO, bonds on the April ballot, a first in the city's history. The bonds would be repaid through a property tax increase over the next 20 years.
The bridge work is part of Question 2, which Independence voters will see on the April 8 ballot.
The $55-million GO bond question would earmark $15 million for the bridge program. It also would add $30 million to the street resurfacing program and allocate $10 million for building or repairing sidewalks around seven Independence elementary schools.
Question 1, which would cost $130 million, would create a new Independence Justice Center near East 23rd Street and Missouri 291, demolish the current Independence Police Department headquarters and buy the Jackson County Regional Animal Shelter building from the county.
Question 3 would provide $5 million for renovations at the Independence Athletic Complex and $7 million for maintenance and repairs at city-owned historic buildings.
Each question will be decided separately — so, one, two or all three could pass or fail — and must receive 57% of the vote to pass.
—
KSHB 41 reporter Tod Palmer covers sports business and eastern Jackson County. Share your story idea with Tod.
