Industrial History: 1956 US-169 Broadway (Buck O'Neil) Bridge over Missouri River in Kansas City, MO

Friday, July 9, 2021

1956 US-169 Broadway (Buck O'Neil) Bridge over Missouri River in Kansas City, MO

(Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; 3D Satellite)

The BNSF/CB&Q Bridge is in the background.

"This bridge was a replacement for a roadway that crossed the Missouri River by way of the parallel Hannibal Railroad Bridge, which originally included an upper deck for highway traffic." [Historic Bridges]

MoDOT Flickr

They did a major rehabilitation just three years ago in 2018. How bad was it that it couldn't limp to 2024 when the replacement bridge is supposed to be done? [MoDOT Rehab Flickr via MoDOT-new]

ClarksonConstruction

This is the post that motivated me to research this bridge while it is still standing.

Massman Construction Co. posted

This week, the Buck O’Neil Project Team broke ground on the replacement of the existing 1956 Missouri River crossing.  Representatives from project stakeholders, including @modot_kc and @kcmogov helped kick off the critical undertaking.  

On behalf of the Massman-Clarkson joint venture team, we are excited to deliver this signature project for our region and leverage our skills and expertise in our hometown.  In addition to the new river crossings, the project includes enhancements to regional connectivity, safety, and overall accessibility, including a pedestrian and bike path crossing the river.  Construction will continue for the next several years, culminating in the project’s opening in 2024.

Phil Nicolas posted
Bridges Now and Then posted
Kansas City's Broadway Bridge (Buck O'Neil Bridge), c. 1956. (No Credit Found)
Bill Barnes: Soon to be demolished, replaced by another soul-less ribbon of boring concrete.

Robin Japins commented on the Bridges Now and Then post
View from under Hannibal Bridge.

Comments on the Bridges Now and Then post

MoDOT via FlatLandKC
[This source also has diagrams of the cheaper and the more expensive options that were considered.]

This article includes the virtual tour video released by MoDOT.

The new $220m bridge is an UCEB (Ugly Concrete Eyesore Bridge). But the south end is supposed to tie-in with I-35. Today's bridge dumps all of its traffic at a stoplight on the south end.

Massman-Clarkson via Fox4
"The current Broadway Bridge...is used by nearly 50,000 drivers daily."
[I guess a traffic light can handle quite a few vehicles a day.]

Massman-Clarkson via Fox4

The Broadway Bridge was renamed in 2016 the John Jordan “Buck” O’Neil Memorial Bridge for Jordan who was the first Black coach in Major League Baseball. He was also known for bringing recognition to the accomplishments of the Negro Leagues, in which he was a player and manager for the Kansas City Monarchs. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame after his death in 2006. [EquipmentWorld]

LineCreekLoudmouth

Historic Bridges explains this bridge was a transition in bridge design. It uses the construction technique of old fashioned riveted steel. But it was a bleeding edge "superhighway" design. "The superhighway design started to become popular in the mid-twentieth century and became common in the 1970s. The Buck O’Neil Bridge includes a super elevation for curves, grades to adjust for vertical elevation, curved designs for ramps, support systems for elevated ramps and a complex substructure that had to be custom designed to fit around existing roads and railway that are all common elements in superhighway designs." [MoDOT-old]

As one can imagine, dumping the traffic of the US-169 expressway onto local streets to get to I-70 or I-35 is a source of a lot of traffic congestion and accidents.