Changes coming to one of Kansas City's most dangerous intersections

LIBERTY, Mo. - Changes are coming to one of Kansas City's most dangerous intersections.

Following a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday, crews will begin ripping up two intersections near 152 and Flintlock near Liberty to make way for the new Flintlock flyover.

The Flintlock flyover will straddle Interstate 35 and will connect Flintlock Road and 76th street in Kansas City to Liberty Drive in Liberty.

The Liberty community has been pushing the Missouri Department of Transportation to make these changes for more than three years.

About 30,000 drivers cruise through the area every day, and the intersections of 152 and Flintlock and 152 and Church Street consistently rank in the Top 5 intersections for the most crashes in the entire city.

The new Flintlock flyover will divert traffic to I-35 and take 7,500 cars a day away from the congested intersections.

Major Rich Lockhart of the Kansas City Police Department says one of the reasons why the intersections are so crash-prone is because the highway meets the city streets too quickly, as drivers on 152 headed West are changing speeds quickly.

“People are used to driving at a high speed and then all of the sudden they come up on a traffic controlled intersection, and if you're not paying attention you end up in a rear end collision", Lockhart said.

Community members were especially concerned about this intersection because more than 100 school buses take this route every day. The project is scheduled to be done by next August or September.