Buck O’Neil Bridge. Photo courtesy MoDOT.The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) reopened the Buck O’Neil Bridge ahead of schedule, just in time for Thanksgiving travel, KSHB reports. The bridge had been closed since May for a three-phase rehabilitation project and was originally scheduled to reopen on December 1.
Crews repaired cables, railings, medians, and expansion joints on the 60-year-old structure, which is expected to extend the bridge’s lifespan by up to five years. The $7-million estimated project cost was shared between MoDOT and Kansas City.
“Unfortunately, the bridge is nearing the end of its lifespan at this point,” MoDOT resident engineer James Pflum told the news agency. “What we did was get a few more years out of it with these repairs. Now we are looking at the future as to what it will look like.”
MoDOT is conducting an environmental study to determine the feasibility of building a new bridge.
