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On Sept. 30, MoDOT’s Kansas City District hosted a ribbon-cutting event for the completion of the $220 million Buck O’Neil/U.S. Highway 169 Bridge Project.
The new bridge is set to officially open to traffic later in October. It will provide direct connections from Interstate 35 to U.S. Highway 169, dedicated lanes to downtown Kansas City, a new bike/pedestrian lane, access improvements at the downtown airport and a scenic overlook with benches and murals.
Funding this project was a joint effort across many entities, including $112.5 million from MoDOT’s Statewide Transportation Improvement Program and another $112.5 million from Kansas City, which was made up of $40 million secured by cooperation from the Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) and $72.5 million from other funding sources within the city. The rest of the funding came from a $25 million federal BUILD grant secured by Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair Congressman Sam Graves and U.S. Congressman Emmanuel Cleaver II of Kansas City.
Guests at the ribbon-cutting event included Missouri Gov. Michael L. Parson, Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission Vice Chair Warren Erdman, Congressman Emanuel Cleaver II, Mayor of Kansas City Quinton Lucas, MARC Executive Director David Warm, Interim MoDOT Director Ed Hassinger and Project Sponsor Henry Massman of Massman-Clarkson, A Joint Venture. The president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Bob Kendrick, was also present to honor the bridge’s namesake - Buck O’Neil, the legendary baseball player and first African American Major League Baseball coach.
For more about the Buck O’Neil project, including photos of the event, visit the project's website.
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