New Buck O’Neil Bridge Rending

The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission selected three Kansas City Firms to build the new Buck ONeil bridge across the Missouri river. Clarkson Construction, Massman Construction with HNTB Corp will be the joint venture teams to build the new $220 million dollar bridge. Kevin O’Neill, 1st District Councilman At-Large for Kansas City was pleased with the selection. “These are three of the finest companies in our city who share a rich history in the building of Kansas City. I am excited to finally hear we have a design build contract and are ready to start on this project.” The new bridge will alleviate a lot of the congestion problems that have been aggravating drivers over the past several years.

With direct access off  the bridge to Interstate I-35 on the south end, the nearly 50,000 cars and trucks that travel to and from the Northland should see great improvement on their commutes across the river. The new bridge will also include bike and pedestrian access and will also have better access to the down town airport.

“This is a significant milestone for the project, and the City of Kansas City is glad to see this progress,” City Manager Brian Platt said in a news release from the Missouri Department of Transportation. Construction on the new bridge is expected to start in the fall of 2021, that’s right this year, and be completed in fall of 2024. The current Buck O’Neil Bridge will remain open while they build the new bridge directly to the west of the old bridge. Billy Clarkson, Junior, Vice President of Clarkson Construction stated, “Clarkson is so excited to have the opportunity to build such an important and iconic project for Kansas city. We have two great local partners in Massman and HNTB that share our same core values and passion for our city that will make this project a success. Our team looks forward to working with MODOT, Kansas City and all local stakeholders.” The Buck O’Neil Bridge recently underwent a short-term rehabilitation to extend its service life. However, a new bridge is needed to provide a crossing that will support continued use well into the future. The Broadway Bridge was officially renamed the John Jordan “Buck” O’Neill Memorial Bridge on June 24, 2016 for the former first baseman and manager of the Kansas City Monarchs.