Year-long closures for $220M Buck O’Neil Bridge project have begun
From KCTV 5:
Construction on the large-scale Buck O’Neil Bridge project begins Monday, spurring closures that will affect Kansas City drivers.
The $220 million major rehabilitation includes northbound Interstate 35 being shut down from 12th Street to I-70 for the next nine months. By the time that closure is lifted, though, it will be another year of work before the bridge is finished. The project is expected to reach completion in 2024.
Just down the street from the closure, Lavyne McGinnis has grown used to cones and construction equipment right outside the door of her barbershop. McGinnis is the owner of Barberette near 5th and Broadway. Her lot is surrounded by some of the preliminary work on the bridge.
“People come in all the time and ask, ‘When is that going to be done?’” McGinnis said, adding that she was hopeful the project would reduce congestion downtown in the long run. “Honestly it will make this area so much better.”