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Contractors ‘excited’ to begin construction on Rock Island Railroad Bridge after delay

Rock Island Train Bridge
Posted at 4:35 PM, Mar 02, 2023
and last updated 2023-03-02 17:35:45-05

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Construction for the Rock Island Railroad Bridge will finally begin March 13 and contractors Mike Zeller and Dan Gibson are looking forward to the start of the project.

Both are “excited for construction to begin” on a first-of-its-kind entertainment district that was originally set to begin last October. The project was delayed due to the Unified Government deciding if the bridge needed to be raised to get it out of the new flood stage created by the "KC Levees Mega Project.”

As a result, the bridge will be raised to 3 feet, 8 inches.

Crews will use jacks from the top to put in a new system, and then create the walking surface and restaurant space. The latter part of the project is estimated to take seven months.

The entire project is set to be completed on March 17, 2024.

“It will be a major driver to tourists in Kansas City,” Zeller told KSHB 41 last June.

The project will be built on the site that was formerly the Kaw River Railroad Bridge in Kansas City, Kansas, over the Kansas River.

It will connect the West Bottoms in Kansas City, Missouri, across the state line to KCK.

According to the Rock Island website, the bridge will have dining, bars, event spaces, music and more.