KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Drivers heading north across the Missouri River on U.S. 169 Highway now travel on part of the new Buck O’Neil Bridge in Kansas City, Missouri.
Monday afternoon crews with the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) shifted northbound traffic from the original bridge to the new bridge. Southbound traffic must continue using alternate routes until the fall.
MoDOT said the shift in traffic pattern was necessary to allow crews to demolish the original bridge to make room for completing the new bridge, which will be completed by the end of 2024.
Drivers will notice the difference near West 5th Street and Broadway Boulevard in downtown Kansas City.
“I can’t wait, personally,” said Ryan Waller, a River Market resident. “I just think it’s going to be so much easier to get around town.”
Sam Sapp lives in Kansas City’s Northland. He crosses the river about once a week for his IT business Lockbaud. He said he looks forward to his drive home Monday across the new bridge.
“Exhilarating,” Sapp said. "What a way to start the week."
The $220 million bridge replacement project began in the summer of 2021. Once finished, U.S. 169 Highway will connect directly to Interstate 35 without the current stoplights.
City staff in Kansas City asked architects, engineers and artists to submit proposals on how to repurpose the iconic steel arches from the original bridge. The city has not made a final decision on what to do with the metal.
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