Wednesday, October 01, 2003
12th Street Viaduct
Short PDF about the need and the cost of repairs to Kansas City's famous (well, it should be famous in my book) multi-level road.
It says that the viaduct is the "only multi-level structure in the Kansas City area". I don't think is quite true. When I lived there, a couple of the bridges over the Kansas (or "Kaw") river had two levels. The upper decks tied into a viaduct system connecting downtown Kansas City, MO to downtown Kansas City, KS, passing over the industrial "bottoms" areas near the river. The lower levels directly connected the low-lying streets in the bottoms.
I seem to recall that the I-70 bridge (also called "Lewis and Clark" or "Inter-City") had a lower deck which was long since closed by the time I got there.
The Central Avenue Bridge, on the other hand, had a lower level that was still open in 1999. Driving across it was a cool and slightly scary experience. Like the drawbridges of a bygone era, there was no pavement, just metal grid that you could see through down to the river.
Now I've got to go find some bridgefan websites.
It says that the viaduct is the "only multi-level structure in the Kansas City area". I don't think is quite true. When I lived there, a couple of the bridges over the Kansas (or "Kaw") river had two levels. The upper decks tied into a viaduct system connecting downtown Kansas City, MO to downtown Kansas City, KS, passing over the industrial "bottoms" areas near the river. The lower levels directly connected the low-lying streets in the bottoms.
I seem to recall that the I-70 bridge (also called "Lewis and Clark" or "Inter-City") had a lower deck which was long since closed by the time I got there.
The Central Avenue Bridge, on the other hand, had a lower level that was still open in 1999. Driving across it was a cool and slightly scary experience. Like the drawbridges of a bygone era, there was no pavement, just metal grid that you could see through down to the river.
Now I've got to go find some bridgefan websites.
