KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Wednesday marked the first morning since February 2023 drivers could cross the Missouri River from the Northland using the southbound lanes of U.S. 169 Highway.
While the northbound lanes opened in January, the opening of the southbound lanes signaled a big step toward the completion of the Buck O’Neil Bridge project, which is expected to wrap up next month.
RELATED | Buck O’Neil Bridge opens to southbound traffic on US Highway 169
Just north of the river and right off of 169 sits Headrush Roasters, a coffee shop.
Owner Nancy Schneider said she noticed a dip in business when the southbound lanes of the highway closed.
I asked what she thought when she first heard about the project and the closure.
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“I was like, 'Oh my gosh, that’s like a nightmare,'" Schneider said. "I don’t wanna think about it because I was kinda concerned about the business because I know a lot of our customers commute this way.”
Fortunately, she said customers still showed up, including several regulars.
Still, she’s hoping to see even more customers now that the southbound lanes are open.
"I'm so grateful. I think we're gonna see a lot more people coming back this way, which is gonna be really good not just for Headrush Roasters but it's gonna be really good for all of us here," Schneider said of the other shops and restaurants around her.
Headrush barista Mason Hakes said he's relieved his commute will be much shorter with the opening of the southbound lanes.
”My backyard backs up to 169 Highway, so we're like 10 minutes north of downtown,” Hakes said. “So that’s my primary north and south of where I go, and so I've been like incredibly inconvenienced.”
Customer Lisa Fitch said she's glad both directions are open because she feels "it's gonna be great for our city."
Fitch also owns a shop in Riverside, which she said will benefit from the restored traffic flow.
“That has impacted our business a lot because we do deliveries on the other side of town,” she said. “We also go get supplies on the other side of town, so that has impacted us greatly just for traffic and the amount of traffic we've had to deal with. So I'm excited that it's open.”
Before construction started on the new bridge, the Missouri Department of Transportation estimated almost 50,000 drivers use it daily.
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