A joint venture involving three Kansas City firms will design and build the new Buck O’Neil Bridge over the Missouri River near the Wheeler Downtown Airport, Missouri highway officials announced Wednesday.
The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission has selected Massman-Clarkson joint venture as the design-build contractor to replace the bridge formerly known as the Broadway Bridge. Construction is expected to begin in the fall of 2021 and be completed by late fall 2024.
“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.
“We will continue working with the state to ensure the project employs a diverse workforce as we build this vital and transformative economic link between downtown KCMO and our northland region. This will benefit our residents and visitors by adding bike and pedestrian facilities, improving access to the downtown airport and decreasing traffic congestion, especially on our local streets.”
The winning contractor is a joint venture involving Massman Construction Co., Clarkson Construction Co. and HNTB Corp. The venture’s project proposal “demonstrated a design that would be the best value” for Kansas City, according to the release.
The winning contractor had to meet or exceed several goals, including: provide a direct connection between U.S. 169 to Interstate 35, build a new bridge that can be reasonably maintained and provide a century of service, and minimize the impact on the public during construction.
The new bridge will cost close to $220 million. Nearly a year ago, Kansas City’s City Council approved a funding agreement with Missouri to split the cost of the new bridge even though the state owns the bridge.
The bridge, which connects downtown to the Northland and carries close to 50,000 vehicles per day, was built in 1956 and is nearing the end of its projected life. It has undergone significant repair in recent years.