End nears for Buck O’Neil Bridge in Kansas City. Northbound traffic to switch new bridge

An era is coming to an end in Kansas City as the Buck O’Neil Bridge will no longer carry traffic over the Missouri River in the coming days.

“It has been many years in the making and we’re finally at that point where we can switch traffic,” said James Pflum, project directer on the Buck O’Neil Bridge replacement project for the Missouri Department of Transportation’s Kansas City District.

“So it’s a big moment for us.”

After three years of design and construction, the project has progressed to the point where traffic must be moved off the old bridge onto the new one so that work can be continued, he said. Because of the way the new bridges are aligned, crews can’t do any more work until the north arch of the exiting bridge is demolished.

The transportation department has been ready for about a week to make the switch, but the weather hasn’t cooperated. Bitterly cold temperatures and wet weather has prevented workers from getting the striping down.

“It’s a day-by-day decision at this point,” Pflum said.

The switchover could come as early as Sunday, or as late as Monday or Tuesday.

What drivers can expect

For the past year, southbound U.S. 169 has been closed at the Wheeler Downtown Airport. Drivers were detoured via Interstate 29/35 over the Bond Bridge on the northeast corner of downtown.

That detour remains in effect as construction continues on the new bridges, Pflum said.

“Right now, the only traffic on the old bridge is the northbound U.S. 169 traffic,” he said. “And we we will move those two lanes of traffic off the old bridge onto one of the new river bridges that we’ve just built.”

The main change northbound drivers will notice is that they will make a slight left at Fifth Street and Broadway to go across the new bridge, Pflum said. For the time being, the new southbound bridge will be used to carry northbound traffic over the river.

Drivers on northbound Interstate 35 on the west side of the downtown loop will continue to exit at Broadway if they want to head north on U.S. 169.

“For us, it’s just a lot of excitement,” Pflum said. “You’re coming into year four of a four-year project and so it’s that moment where all this planning and all this work has come to this single moment.”

This milestone gives Pflum confidence that the project will be completed by the end of the year as planned.

“We are still on track with our original schedule,” he said. “We’re still looking at Dec. 1, 2024, for completion of the project.”

The construction of the two bridges over the river has been completed. So after the old bridge is demolished, people will notice workers tying in the bridges at Fifth Street and on the north near the airport, as well as into the flyovers that connect to I-35.

“They’re not going to see major changes this year,” Pflum said. “They’re going to see kind of finishing touches put on things.”

Most of the steel work has been completed. The remaining work will be put in place once the old bridge is demolished.

The transportation department is working with Kansas City to repurpose the old bridge, but nothing has been defined yet.

“In terms of reusing the entire bridge, I think that is not going to happen, but how do we incorporate pieces of the bridge within the community is something that we’re looking at right now,” Pflum said.

Renamed to honor KC sports legend

The John Jordan “Buck” O’Neil Memorial Bridge, formerly known as the Broadway Bridge, has served as a key regional connection between downtown Kansas City and Northland communities.

The iconic triple arch, steel-truss structure opened in 1956 as a toll bridge run by the city. It was built at a cost of $12 million. Tolls generated nearly $40 million before they were ended in 1991, at which time it cost 25 cents a car to cross. The city transferred ownership of the bridge to MoDOT in 1992.

The bridge was renamed to honor the popular Kansas City sports legend in 2016. O’Neil was a first baseman and manager for the Kansas City Monarchs from 1938 to 1955. He was a scout for the Chicago Cubs, where he signed Hall of Fame players Ernie Banks and Lou Brock. In 1962, O’Neil became the first African-American coach in Major League Baseball with the Cubs. He joined the Kansas City Royals as a scout in 1988.

O’Neil was widely known for helping renew interest in the Negro Leagues and helping establish the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in 1990. He served as board chairman until his death in 2006.

Although the bridge, which is nearing the end of its projected life span, underwent a short-term rehabilitation project to extend its life in 2018, a new bridge was needed to serve the communities that have changed significantly since the original bridge was built. Nearly 50,000 vehicles a day used the bridge.

The Missouri Department of Transportation and Kansas City worked together to obtain the $220 million needed for the project. Massman-Clarkson, A Joint Venture, is the design-build contractor that was chosen for the project. Construction began in July 2021.