Second blast scheduled Tuesday to demolish iconic Buck O’Neil Bridge in Kansas City
The second of three blasts to demolish the Buck O’Neil Bridge will take place Tuesday, prompting road closures in the area.
Intermittent closures are expected on northbound U.S. Highway 169 from 5th Street to Richards Road, as the demolition is scheduled to take place sometime between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.
The demolition will not be open to the public for safety reasons, but videos will be available.
The Missouri Department of Transportation encourages drivers to reduce their speed and pay attention in work zones as they can be constantly changing.
In January, MoDOT closed the Buck O’Neil Bridge and shifted northbound traffic to one of the newly built river bridges, bringing an end to an era in Kansas City.vOfficials held the first blast on Feb. 15.
The iconic triple-arch, steel-truss bridge opened in 1956 as a toll bridge run by Kansas City. Tolls were ended in 1991 and the city transferred ownership of the bridge to MoDOT in 1992. In 2016, the bridge was remaned from the Broadway Bridge to honor Kansas City sports legend Buck O’Neil.
The bridge, which had neared the end of its projected life span, served as a key regional connection between downtown Kansas City and the Northland. Nearly 50,000 vehicles a day traveled on the bridge.
The Star’s Robert A. Cronkleton contributed reporting.
