The Rock Island Bridge, which will connect Kansas City, Mo. to Kansas City, Kan. near the Hy-Vee Arena in the West Bottoms, is still on track to open this spring.
During Wednesday night’s meeting of the Wyandotte County Park Board, developers gave an update on the project. Sarah White, a project engineer with the Parks Department, started by saying, “the Kansas River is highly underutilized in our community.”
The idea for the riverfront development came about more than five years ago. As of now, the Rock Island Bridge is still an old railroad bridge with no draw to the river. However, private developers have created a space along the bridge which promises to be an entertainment district.
The bridge was originally supposed to open in the summer of 2024. Developers said the delay was to ensure everything was in place and working at the highest standard for guests. In the meantime, public guided tours were made available for residents to see the bridge’s transformation.
The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kan. got involved in the project back in 2018 when engineers were looking at the area and speaking with property owners on how to develop it.
“We’re really excited about activating the river, activating both sides of the river, and bringing kind of a destination to the eastern part of the city,” said White.
The final bridge and surrounding area will include three trailheads around the levee trail system, adding a park at the east side entrance to the Rock Island Bridge, installing access ramps, stairways and parking lots.
While the Rock Island Bridge is still slated to open in the spring of 2025, work on the west side of the river won’t be completed for at least another year, with an estimated competition date of February 2026.
Source: Fox 4 News, Yahoo News
