KANSAS CITY, Mo — The John Jordan “Buck O’Neil” Memorial Bridge has been a key connector of downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and communities north of the river since 1956.
According to the Missouri Department of Transportation, about 50,000 vehicles use the bridge daily.
But due to concerns around its projected lifespan, MoDOT blasted the third and final arch on Tuesday morning.
"68 years this bridge has been in use taking people across the river, you know, from home to work and back and forth and things like that," said James Pflum, director of the Buck O'Neil Bridge Project. "And I think they have a lot of memories and emotions attached to just the steel and the concrete that’s out there. It’s been a big part of Kansas City for a long time."
The bridge underwent renovations in 2018 to extend its life, but MoDOT and the city of Kansas City felt a new bridge was necessary for safety.
One of the goals of the new bridge is to have a 100-year lifespan.
“We have flyover bridges that’ll take traffic to I-35. We’ll have dedicated lanes to downtown," Pflum said. "They are gonna see a lot more dedicated lanes and things like that, so those movements and those drive times we’re expecting to be shorter now because of this work.”
According to MoDOT, the overall $257,879,900 project broke ground in Summer 2021 and will be finished in December of this year.
Weather and low water levels have posed some challenges, but Pflum says the project is on track.
“At this stage though, we’re saying 85, 90 percent done," he said. "We have all the foundations in the ground and were building up and slowly starting to get the last little bit of garters in the concrete deck and all that."
Project designers also focused on aesthetics.
Commuters can expect a new bike/pedestrian lane, access improvements at the downtown airport, changing LED lights following along the trail, and a scenic overlook with benches and murals.
For Marcus Harris, who opened his tattoo shop two years ago in the River Market, it has been a key corridor for business.
“All these apartments here are brand new, they’re building stuff up and down the street — it’s a lot of business for us," Harris said. “We were one of the first ones down here on this corner, and now it’s a lot more down here so it’s pretty nice."
Harris says while the construction and detours may be loud and inconvenient for his customers, he is happy to see a growing city as it means the longevity of his business.
“I just hope it looks nice cause it did change the scenery a lot," Harris said. “It’s confusing, but I think when it all gets built, it’ll be pretty nice."
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