Weekend bridge demolition to make travel near Worlds of Fun in Kansas City a challenge

Robert A. Cronkleton
·2 min read

A weekend bridge demolition project will close a stretch of Interstate 435, making travel around the Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun area in Kansas City’s Northland difficult, according to the Missouri Department of Transportation.

All lanes of northbound and southbound Interstate 435 will be closed between the Interstate 35 interchange and Parvin.

During the closure, southbound I-435 traffic will be detoured along southbound I-35 to eastbound I-70 in downtown Kansas City and back to I-435.

Northbound I-435 traffic will be detoured along westbound I-70 to northbound I-35 in downtown Kansas City and back to I-435.

“This work will greatly impact patrons of Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun,” MoDOT’s Kansas City District said in a news release. “We encourage everyone to plan ahead.”

Crews are closing the heavily traveled highway on Kansas City’s east side north of the Missouri River so that they can demolish the Northeast 53rd Terrace Bridge over I-435 in Clay County.

Here’s the timing of the closure and what drivers can expect:

  • Between 6 and 9 p.m. Friday, crews will close all but one lane of northbound and southbound I-435 between I-35 and 48th Street so that median guard-cable can be relocated.

  • At 9 p.m. Friday and continuing to 5 a.m. Monday at the latest, I-435 will be closed for the bridge demolition.

  • Crews will also close the ramps from northbound and southbound I-35 to southbound I-435.

  • The ramp from U.S. 69 to I-435 will be closed.

  • The ramp from Northeast 48th Street to northbound I-435 will be closed.

  • Eastbound and westbound lanes of Northeast 53rd Terrace have closed between Randolph Road and North Richmond Avenue and will be reopened by Dec. 1.

Crews are replacing the bridge, which was built in 1969 and has reached it’s projected service life. The new bridge will include two 12-foot lanes with 4-foot shoulders and a 6-foot sidewalk on the south side of the bridge.

A bridge demolition project this weekend will close a stretch of Interstate 435 making travel around the Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun area in Kansas City’s Northland difficult. This is a rendering of the replacement bridge that will be built over Interstate 435 at Northeast 53rd Terrace.
A bridge demolition project this weekend will close a stretch of Interstate 435 making travel around the Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun area in Kansas City’s Northland difficult. This is a rendering of the replacement bridge that will be built over Interstate 435 at Northeast 53rd Terrace.

The project is expect to cost about $2.5 million dollars and is funded with MoDOT funding. Approximately 2,000 vehicles use daily.