KANSAS CITY, Mo — For nearly three years, the Missouri Department of Transportation has been working on replacing the current Buck O'Neil bridge. As of December 2023, the agency says they're 65% done with the ongoing project.
"I just think about all the improvements for your commuters, your regional commuters, how much shorter a drive time they're going to have and pedestrians that try to walk across the bridge; we've improved all those connections," said James Pflum, Director for the Buck O'Neil Bridge Design Build Project.
Pflum says crews are currently wrapping up major phases of the project and believes the worst traffic delays of this entire project were felt in 2023, including the long-term closure of southbound US-169 Highway from the downtown airport to Fifth Street. Pflum stressed the agency is in constant contact with businesses and nearby apartments to mitigate and minimize impacts.
The project is also still within budget, costing more than $257 million which incorporates some federal funds.
"When you go into a four year project, that's a long time to try to get things done and so we have intermediate goals, we're hitting all of our intermediate goals," said Pflum.
Once complete the project will be carrying traffic from downtown KC to north KC across the Missouri River.
"This year, the water has actually been a little bit higher and so we've had enough that we've been able to work but we are getting into a time of year where the water levels are going to start dropping and that'll just be something that we're having to work around," explained Pflum.
Come mid-January, MoDot will have a detour that will shift traffic from the old bridge to the new bridge down at Fifth and Broadway. The detour however is expected to have minimal impact.
Right now, the current contract calls for the removal of the old Buck O'Neil bridge, MoDot says the city of Kansas City has expressed desire in keeping part of the bridge, but estimates it will cost around $50 million and would need to be approved by several agencies.
