Westbound Lewis and Clark Bridge Demolition

[route56]

Given that I work for a living, I did not witness the explosive demolition of the westbound Lewis and Clark Bridge. However, KDOT did have several cameras rolling themselves, and have posted video of the bridge demo on their YouTube channel.

From the Ground:

And in the air:

[yakra]

Does this mean that for I-70 near exit 423C, as we like to say  wicked faah nawtheast, "ya can't get theyah from heyah"?

[US71]

Does this mean that for I-70 near exit 423C, as we like to say  wicked faah nawtheast, "ya can't get theyah from heyah"?

You have to detour via I-670.

[CtrlAltDel]

This is perhaps not the best thread to post in, but have there been an updates on the reconstruction of the viaduct. I was under the impression that the route was to reopen earlier this year, but Google Maps shows it as still closed. I haven't been able to find any recent information online, but maybe someone more local has heard something.

[mvak36]

This is perhaps not the best thread to post in, but have there been an updates on the reconstruction of the viaduct. I was under the impression that the route was to reopen earlier this year, but Google Maps shows it as still closed. I haven't been able to find any recent information online, but maybe someone more local has heard something.

Before Thanksgiving, Google maps was showing it to open on Nov 30. But now it's saying closed until Dec 2021. I'm not sure what's going on. I haven't been able to find any articles on it either.

[CtrlAltDel]

This is perhaps not the best thread to post in, but have there been an updates on the reconstruction of the viaduct. I was under the impression that the route was to reopen earlier this year, but Google Maps shows it as still closed. I haven't been able to find any recent information online, but maybe someone more local has heard something.

Before Thanksgiving, Google maps was showing it to open on Nov 30. But now it's saying closed until Dec 2021. I'm not sure what's going on. I haven't been able to find any articles on it either.

It's as if they've just kind of forgotten about the project and have slowly wandered off to other things. Weird.

[davewiecking]

This is perhaps not the best thread to post in, but have there been an updates on the reconstruction of the viaduct. I was under the impression that the route was to reopen earlier this year, but Google Maps shows it as still closed. I haven't been able to find any recent information online, but maybe someone more local has heard something.

Before Thanksgiving, Google maps was showing it to open on Nov 30. But now it's saying closed until Dec 2021. I'm not sure what's going on. I haven't been able to find any articles on it either.

It's as if they've just kind of forgotten about the project and have slowly wandered off to other things. Weird.

This link from a KDoT tweet mentions that ramps are still closed. Google found an article from June of someone trying to drive on the unopened viaduct, which included a photo of the bridge under construction and a car where it shouldn't be. I'll poke around again for that link.

http://www.ksdot.org/Assets/wwwksdotorg/bureaus/kcMetro/pdf2020/KC_Metro_Highway_Projects_Update_Dec_10.pdf

Editing to add that http://www.kcscout.com (a joint KDOT/MODOT site) has a traffic camera on the Kansas shore that might show progress, except it's now pointed southbound. And it's night. I did read elsewhere that spring 2019 river flooding cost many work days.

https://www.thedrive.com/news/36689/nissan-muranos-urban-adventure-on-unfinished-bridge-is-a-clueless-driver-classic has a picture of the bridge deck from August 2020.

[mvak36]

Take this FWIW, but Google Maps now says that I-70 W is closed till Jan 25.

[Sani]

This is perhaps not the best thread to post in, but have there been an updates on the reconstruction of the viaduct. I was under the impression that the route was to reopen earlier this year, but Google Maps shows it as still closed. I haven't been able to find any recent information online, but maybe someone more local has heard something.

It feels like, once they realized that shutting it down didn't cause a traffic apocalypse, they decided to take their sweet time with it.

[mvak36]

This is perhaps not the best thread to post in, but have there been an updates on the reconstruction of the viaduct. I was under the impression that the route was to reopen earlier this year, but Google Maps shows it as still closed. I haven't been able to find any recent information online, but maybe someone more local has heard something.

It feels like, once they realized that shutting it down didn't cause a traffic apocalypse, they decided to take their sweet time with it.

I think the Spring 2019 floods might have caused some of the delays. I believe it would have been done by the end of 2019/mid-2020 if it wasn't for that.

It will be interesting to see when they do the other phases of the Lewis and Clark viaduct to get rid of the tight curves on I-70. This is what they had in their Concept Study Report from 2012. It will be interesting to see if that's still the plan.

[davewiecking]

https://twitter.com/kansascitykdot/status/1353801288128069634 throws in a mention that the viaduct is now open. No word on MoDOT's Twitter feed that I've seen...

[CtrlAltDel]

Woohoo! Finally some news!

[mvak36]

https://www.kctv5.com/news/like-a-scene-out-of-die-hard-bridge-wall-damaged-one-week-after-3-year/article_b71b67e4-62aa-11eb-a4ca-8335eec73842.html#tncms-source=block-contextual-fallback

Well so much for going to see the new bridge this weekend  .

[CtrlAltDel]

https://www.kctv5.com/news/like-a-scene-out-of-die-hard-bridge-wall-damaged-one-week-after-3-year/article_b71b67e4-62aa-11eb-a4ca-8335eec73842.html#tncms-source=block-contextual-fallback

Well so much for going to see the new bridge this weekend  .

You have got to be kidding. Do you think it's a design thing, or just poor driving?

[mvak36]

https://www.kctv5.com/news/like-a-scene-out-of-die-hard-bridge-wall-damaged-one-week-after-3-year/article_b71b67e4-62aa-11eb-a4ca-8335eec73842.html#tncms-source=block-contextual-fallback

Well so much for going to see the new bridge this weekend  .

You have got to be kidding. Do you think it's a design thing, or just poor driving?

Unfortunately this last project didn't do anything to fix that substandard curve on the west end of the bridges so I suspect it might have been a combination of that and the semi driver going too fast. That's just my guess though.

[Ned Weasel]

https://www.kctv5.com/news/like-a-scene-out-of-die-hard-bridge-wall-damaged-one-week-after-3-year/article_b71b67e4-62aa-11eb-a4ca-8335eec73842.html#tncms-source=block-contextual-fallback

Well so much for going to see the new bridge this weekend  .

You have got to be kidding. Do you think it's a design thing, or just poor driving?

Unfortunately this last project didn't do anything to fix that substandard curve on the west end of the bridges so I suspect it might have been a combination of that and the semi driver going too fast. That's just my guess though.

Fictional Highways territory, but--

FFS, just make I-670 the official I-70 already and let the northern part of the Downtown Loop be happy being US 24.  It clearly isn't designed for high-speed traffic and thus shouldn't be considered the main through route.  Changing those signs will be a helluva lot cheaper than the new ramps that may or may not happen any time soon.  I'm not opposed to building the new ramps anyway, but in the meantime, I think KDOT and MODOT would be wise to work together to do the simple, intuitive thing and discourage through traffic from using the northern part of the loop and encourage use of what's now I-670 instead.  MODOT already goes partway with this by signing it as ALT I-70.

[route56]

https://www.kctv5.com/news/like-a-scene-out-of-die-hard-bridge-wall-damaged-one-week-after-3-year/article_b71b67e4-62aa-11eb-a4ca-8335eec73842.html#tncms-source=block-contextual-fallback

Well so much for going to see the new bridge this weekend  .

You have got to be kidding. Do you think it's a design thing, or just poor driving?

For clarification, this is not on the new bridge, but on a portion of the old bridge.

The new bridge is open and carrying traffic. Westbound I-70 is closed at Minnesota Avenue in KCK rather than I-35 in KCMO

[CtrlAltDel]

That's one heck of a whack. If you look on Street View, you can see a whole bunch of scrapes, the result of the tight curves mentioned by mvak36 and the lack of a shoulder.

(Image replaced.)

[mvak36]

https://www.kctv5.com/news/like-a-scene-out-of-die-hard-bridge-wall-damaged-one-week-after-3-year/article_b71b67e4-62aa-11eb-a4ca-8335eec73842.html#tncms-source=block-contextual-fallback

Well so much for going to see the new bridge this weekend  .

You have got to be kidding. Do you think it's a design thing, or just poor driving?

For clarification, this is not on the new bridge, but on a portion of the old bridge.

The new bridge is open and carrying traffic. Westbound I-70 is closed at Minnesota Avenue in KCK rather than I-35 in KCMO

Yes, you are right. I apologize if I gave the impression that it was on the bridge.

[Ned Weasel]

That's one heck of a whack. If you look on Street View, you can see a whole bunch of scrapes, the result of the tight curves mentioned by mvak36 and the lack of a shoulder.

I can't see your image, but I know what you mean.  Regarding the lack of a shoulder, I don't know why KDOT hasn't re-striped it to be just one lane.  The eastbound movement for Official I-70 at the exact same interchange is only one lane, so you'd think it would work for the westbound curve.

[CtrlAltDel]

That's one heck of a whack. If you look on Street View, you can see a whole bunch of scrapes, the result of the tight curves mentioned by mvak36 and the lack of a shoulder.

I can't see your image, but I know what you mean.  Regarding the lack of a shoulder, I don't know why KDOT hasn't re-striped it to be just one lane.  The eastbound movement for Official I-70 at the exact same interchange is only one lane, so you'd think it would work for the westbound curve.

Is the AADT low enough for that to be feasible? According to this picture, it's definitely quite a bit lower than all the other interstates of the area, but is it one-lane-in-each-direction low? I don't know what the cutoffs are.

[Ned Weasel]

Is the AADT low enough for that to be feasible? According to this picture, it's definitely quite a bit lower than all the other interstates of the area, but is it one-lane-in-each-direction low? I don't know what the cutoffs are.

We'd have to be able to compare EB AADT to WB AADT.

[route56]

The numbers posted above correlate with the 2019 numbers off of the KDOT GIS portal. The numbers may be skewed because they may have been taken during the extended closure of the westbound Lewis and Clark viaduct.

[CtrlAltDel]

The numbers posted above correlate with the 2019 numbers off of the KDOT GIS portal. The numbers may be skewed because they may have been taken during the extended closure of the westbound Lewis and Clark viaduct.

You make a good point. Here's the 2017 values:



That means that the 14200 from the other picture is only the eastbound traffic, doesn't it?

[mvak36]

https://governor.kansas.gov/governor-laura-kelly-announces-completion-of-65-million-transportation-project/

Looks like it's officially done now. Here's hoping they find the money for Phases 2 and 3 soon and get rid of those substandard curves.