Ribbon-Cutting Marks Opening of New Buck O’Neil Bridge
According to KMBC it’s a project that’s been years in the making, followed by years of construction, and a special ceremony is happening today to mark the end of the process.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held Monday morning at 10 a.m. to celebrate the opening of the new Buck O’Neil Bridge.
The original Broadway Bridge, built in the 1950s over the Missouri River, was named in honor of Negro Leagues baseball legend Buck O’Neil in 2016, 10 years after his death. Over the past six decades, the bridge had undergone maintenance through 2018 when Missouri Department of Transportation engineers deemed the bridge as no longer safe for continued long-term use. That’s when work began to construct a new bridge.
In June 2021, MoDOT and its partners broke ground on the new bridges, which could connect not only 169 Highway to downtown, but I-35 directly to 169 as well. Earlier this year, crews opened a temporary path for northbound 169. However, that route will move to its final bridge today after Monday morning’s ribbon-cutting ceremony.
