KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Work will begin in March to convert a former Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad bridge into an entertainment venue, the Kansas City Star reports.
The bridge, built by the Rock Island in 1905, crosses the Kansas River in the city’s West Bottoms area. It has been idle since the 1970s but remains structurally sound. Flying Truss LLC has worked for years on the redevelopment, which calls for turning the bridge into a space for bars and restaurants.
Plans call for L.G. Barcus and Sons of Kansas City, Kan., to begin work in <arch to remove the ties and rails from the 702-foot bridge, raise it 4 feet to elevate it above levees being raised by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and add some 400 tons of steel and concrete to create a platform in place of the railroad tracks. Another local builder, Centric, will then build out the venue space.
The Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, owns the bridge and is leasing it to Flying Truss. It has spent $2 million on the project, which it expects to be repaid through property taxes and a special sales tax charged on the bridge. Michael Zeller, CEO of Flying Truss, said the project will cost about $12 milllion, with the funds coming from a mix of government, investment, and philanthropic sources.
The project is expected to be completed in spring 2024. More information is available at its website.
This is the former Armourdale Bridge that was abandoned in the 1980s. It’s right next to HyVee (nee’ Kemper) Arena in an area that’s ripe for redevelopment. It has a unique truss jacking system that could raise the entire structure above a potential flood to keep it from being washed away. It was raised and locked in the up position in the late ’80s- I don’t know if they are planning to raise it further or remove the jacking system and put it on new, higher footings. Should be an interesting, unique project.
Definitely a unique form of recycling!
Hope they make sure there’s no way to fall off or jump.
“one”, not “it”. Gotta love when tech corrects you.
Interesting. But I hope the structural engineering analysis is very thorough and “by-the-book”. This is clearly an old structure and the illustration here showing the over-hanging balcony will provide new lateral stresses on the bridge structure.
Not just that, but that they’re adding an additional 400 tons of steel and concrete…I know railroad bridges are built to carry a lot of weight, but they’re designed specifically for railroad uses, not commercial uses.
Cool!
Assuming the county has a clear title to the bridge…
Neat! Don’t let the group trying to save a Minnesota bridge know about this. LOL
You mean the bridge in Bismarck/Mandan North Dakota? That was the first thing I thought of.
At least this bridge was bought and then leased back.
That’s the it, thanks John!