INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — KSHB 41 reporter Tod Palmer covers sports business and eastern Jackson County, including Independence. Share your story idea with Tod.
—
Residents who live near a data center being built in Independence's Little Blue Valley used to head south on Bly Road when they needed to get into town, but the road has been closed for seven months as its redirected to accommodate the Nebius hyperscale AI data factory they have fought for nearly a year, including a lawsuit hoping to halt the project.
But the more pressing concern as the seasons begin to change is what will happen if Bly Road doesn't reopen before winter.
The north end of North Bly Road dead ends at East Bundschu Road at the bottom of a steep hill. Right now, if road conditions make the north end impassable, residents run into a road block heading south.
While there hasn't been a freeze yet this fall, it is not uncommon for Missouri in November.
"It's not fun because when you get to the bottom of the hill, you either have to go left or right, and if you're sliding, you have no control of where you're going,” Bly Road resident Howard Hoff said.
Fellow Bly Road resident Daniel Moorehead said the road closure to the south is inconvenient and has “added another five or eight minutes to my commute every morning as I go north to go south.”
It is also treacherous under certain conditions, including heavy rain, heavy fog or snow and ice.
"It has to be open because if somebody has to go to work or has a doctor's appointment, or if an emergency vehicle has to get in here and the north hill is slick, none of that's going to happen,” Hoff said of the south exit to Bly Road.
Moorehead said history suggests it is guaranteed to happen.
“There's a number of residents here that either have stories of or know people that have gone off the sides of the road up there or clear across Bunschu into the ditch,” Moorehead said. “It's not just a potential, it's a known quantity.”
NorthPoint Development, which is responsible for the Bly Road project, closed the road April 1 and its contractor, Superior Bowen, expected to have it reopened by early August, according to a letter sent to residents.
Two months later, the “road closed” signs remain in place and residents said getting answers has been tough.
The old Bly Road, which was closed more than seven months ago, used to bisect the property where the Nebius facility is being built and terminated at Missouri 78.
"It's been frustrating,” Moorehead said. “We've got all kinds of issues that are happening with this.”
The closure has created another headache for Bly Road residents: construction-related truck traffic. Residents said that despite having security posted at the north end of Bly Road, trucks mistakenly trundle past — sometimes in the middle of the night — almost daily.
"You can't imagine it unless you live here,” Hoff said. “I mean, the noise, the traffic, just the city not holding up their end of the deal.”
Even when the road does reopen, there is another long-term concern residents shared.
"Our bigger concern actually starts to stem from if they do open this road,” Moorehead said. “We've already had so much truck traffic down here, and they've put an entrance. You can actually see right behind those trucks there, that sign. There's an entrance into the job site, so this has just become another thoroughfare for a lot of the trucks that have already been misguided in coming down this way.”
The developer that sold the land for the data center is responsible for the road. But NorthPoint and Superior Bowen didn't respond to multiple requests for information about the project, the reasons for the monthslong delay, or a timeline for reopening the rerouted Bly Road, which will now terminate at a new stoplight along Little Blue Parkway.
The city — which has received multiple complaints from residents about Bly Road, according to a Sunshine Law request filed by KSHB 41 News — sent a statement that said in part it "understands residents' concerns" and "has been working with the developer to encourage progress and reopen the roadway as soon as possible."
"It's important to clarify that the northern portion of Bly Road, which has a steep grade, is an existing roadway and is not part of the current reconstruction project. The southern portion, which is being reconstructed as part of NorthPoint's development, is relatively flat.
"We recognize that residents are concerned about having to continue using the northern portion of Bly Road during inclement weather if the southern portion remains closed.
"While this is a privately managed construction project and NorthPoint is responsible for its completion, the city has been working with the developer to encourage progress and reopen the roadway as soon as possible. We understand the importance of restoring access for residents and will continue doing what we can within the city's authority to move the project toward completion."
Asphalt has been laid on the rerouted Bly Road and it appeared sidewalks, as well as a parking lot for a new adjacent dog park, has been poured, but there didn’t appear to be any street lights in place yet. There is also no indication when it may open, but residents hope they are not going to be stuck trying to get up and down the north end come winter.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
—
