A Bridge So Far - Part Four

Work continues on the Buck O'Neill Bridge which will be opened in October 2024.  This weekend several roads were closed including I70 West by Downtown so that the existing ramp from I70 to I35 could be removed. Above, is the view looking west from Third and Broadway on the westside of the City Market.  Below are two views of what the finished product will look like.  ( courtesy MoDot)

 

City Market Sentry

Walking by the Mighty Mo

Tried the new river walk on Sunday..... which allows a person to travel from Main street almost all the way to Paseo Boulevard along the Missouri River.

Above looking east toward the ASB Bridge, below looking west toward the Broadway Bridge. Old mooring post in the foreground below with wire rope still attached.And yes, the Mighty Muddy Mo is Mighty Muddy. As Twain said: "too thick to swim in and too thin to walk on."
Above the ASB Bridge which stands for Armour (Packing Co.) Swift ( & Company) and Chicago, BURLINGTON (and Quincy Railroad). The piers were built in 1890 but sat unused until 1909 when construction of the rest of the bridge began. It consisted of two decks the upper for cars and trucks and the lower for trains. The bridge, as you can see, is very close to the surface of the water right now which is one reason why the center portion is counterweighted and can be raised. Bridge designers made it possible to do this without disturbing the top deck so traffic was not impeded. After the Heart of America Bridge was finished in 1987 the ASB's top deck was removed. It is a National Landmark in Civil Engineering and is owned now by the Burlington Northern Railroad. Note the pathway goes down under the bridge....on the right in the image. The path is handicap accessible and is for biking or walking.
Areas next to the trail have been planted with native grasses and other plants which should make it look a lot like it did when Lewis and Clark came by just after 1800.
Above, ASB on the left showing one of the massive piers. The piers were originally 9 stories tall in 1890 when completed but were lowered to just 10-feet over the high water mark.
Another view of the Bond Bridge looking east above and below the ASB and The Heart of America Bridges.

Below.... "adaptive reuse" sorta. An old administrative building which was in horrible shape has been stabilized and even has flower boxes in the windows.
To access the walkway you can take Grand down to Berkley Park and then walk west, or, park at the foot of Main, walk out on the tower and then down by stairs or elevator to the walkway.

Bridge(s) Over The River Kaw

On the west side of the West Bottoms next to the Kaw are a series of bridges for foot, biking, train and auto traffic. I've used the foot bridge many times both on foot and on bike... You can bike safely from my house in Northeast KC along Cliff Drive, through the City Market, down to the West Bottoms and over the Kaw to Strawberry Hill. It's a great ride...
Train bridge above... a lot of private boating on the Kaw below.




Lots of triangles in construction.... makes for nice photographs too.
Above... standing on the pedestrian bridge looking at the Lewis and Clark Bridge (green) and the railroad bridge beyond.

Above... the gates on the pedestrian walkway are rarely closed... but are very interesting...
Above... bike path through a cathedral.... looking east....

What Kansas City Does Best....

It tears down its history. City Market... probably 1800s.... congratulations to whomever is responsible for this. Destruction of heritage is a noble pursuit.

Tour of Missouri-City Market

If you tried to navigate downtown Sunday you know that the Tour of Missouri, Stage 7, was underway. Riders road 7- 10.2 mile laps for a total distance of 71.4 miles in this the final stage in the statewide bike race. A total of 612 miles was ridden this past week. American David Zabriskie of the Garmin-Slipstream team was the overall winner. The shots below were taken in the City Market area along Grand Avenue. Multiple cars and motorcycles road in support of the riders. Riders road down Grand to Berkley Park and along the river to Charlotte and then back to downtown. One lap took approximately 20 minutes. These shots are samples from five passes.