For nearly a century the Rock Island Railroad played a central role in the Kansas City Stockyards District which ran along both sides of the Kansas (Kaw) River, and was the second-largest beef processing center in the world. The Railroad's initial bridge over the Kansas River was swept away in the flood of 1901.
To replace it, the Railroad hired the American Bridge Company to design and build two 302 feet-long, Pennsylvania trusses and concrete foundations forty feet into the riverbed. The new bridge began service in 1905. In 1921, a third, shorter span was added to the eastern end when the US Army Corps widened the channel.
Following the devastation of the Flood of '51, the Corps hired L. G. Barcus Company of Kansas City, KS to install screw-lift gates capable of raising the three trusses six feet in advance of high waters. Barcus is now back on the job, using the same mechanisms to lift the bridge to its new permanent location above the height of the new levees, and installing the new steel and concrete decks and railings.
The City of Kansas City, Missouri purchased the bridge and its access easements in 1980 as part of the Kemper Arena parking expansion. Since that time, the majestic structure sat unused, its tracks long ago disconnected. Kansas City, Kansas took ownership of the bridge in 2022 to connect its emerging network of levee trails, and to activate the new Kansas Waterfront through this unique, public/private partnership. This is a first of its kind project in THE WORLD!
The statistics on this project are mind blowing. Join the Urban Core Group on October 25th to get a sneak peak of the Rock Island Bridge that is due to open in the Spring of 2024!
Learn more about the Rock Island Bridge project at https://rockislandkc.com/
The Urban Core Group is a 501(c)6 non-profit organization.
31 W. 31st Street, Kansas City, MO 64108
Privacy Policy - Terms of Service
