KANSAS CITY, Mo. — KSHB 41 has been hosting community listening events since 2025. A group of neighbors in south Kansas City flagged Blue River Road as an ongoing concern at our Let's Talk session in Waldo. KSHB 41 reporter Alyssa Jackson covers Kansas City, Missouri. Share your story idea with Alyssa.
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Portions of Blue River Road in south Kansas City, Missouri, have been closed to traffic since 2010.
Neighbors attended KSHB 41's Let's Talk event in Waldo this summer to express ongoing frustrations with the roadway.
KSHB 41 reporter Alyssa Jackson, who covers KC, made a few visits to the area where the road is closed. She noted it was littered with trash and deteriorating.
People who live in the area are drawn to the scenic drive and history of the road dating back to former President Harry S. Truman.
"Here is just a scenic roadway, but it is much more than that," said resident John Conover. "It is a vital north/south corridor."
However, the road has failed time and time again over the years — lack of maintenance contributes to its structural issues and being washed out by flooding.
"They always filled it in, paved it over and it would last 10–15 years," said Craig Morea, a south Kansas City resident. "In 1990, they stopped maintaining the drainage infrastructure, and I think that accelerated the final collapse you see now."
Jackson spoke with a city spokesperson in July about the roadway. They said the city studied the structural issues and engaged the community several times about the cost of possible solutions.
A roadway rebuild would cost the city an estimated $30 million to $50 million. The trail project on a portion of Blue River Road from Chestnut Drive to Bannister Road costs an estimated $1 million to $2 million.
According to the city's website, the budget has $700,000 available for the trail.
The geographical challenges made grant funding difficult to secure, per the city.
"If this was addressed years ago, it would be significantly less money. What's the price for a better community?" said Geoff Gerling, who lives in south KC.
The people who grew up in this community don’t want a patch. They want the road back.
"We’re going to be right back to square one — an unviable road that was torn up to build an unmaintainable and unviable trail system," Conover said.
Neighbors see a different future for Blue River Road if it's fully restored to traffic again.
"It would look like a place where my 4-year-old daughter would want to come," Gerling said.
Rebuilding the road isn’t off the table, the city said. It is still possible.
Phase 1 of construction begins this fall.
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