KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As construction season swings into full gear, drivers in the Kansas City metro will not only notice more orange cones and barriers, but also steel plates where some crews are working.
Near 32nd and Main streets, vehicles can be heard driving over the steel plates as KC Water crews work on a project.
The plates rattle some drivers, including Kelsey Johnson.
“My car is really low to the ground and so it kind of does a little hop over it every time I drive through it,” she said.
Other than Main Street, 41 Action News discovered other steel plates in the Crossroads District, near road construction signs. In that area, the steel plates are drawing ire from nearby businesses, such as The Russell restaurant.
“It’s been taking a toll on us, for sure,” said Amante Domingo, co-owner of The Russell.
Domingo told 41 Action News that he called the city after he noticed his water pressure dipped, and while back on now, he never realized the steel plates would still be on the street nearly a month later.
“We’ve had a few comments of people saying, ‘hey I thought you were closed,’” Domingo said.
Besides the inconvenience and the noise, Domingo said he’s worried about people’s safety.
“(There was) actually a school bus driving over it and I saw one of the plates was falling in, and that’s when I decided to call,” Domingo said.
Aside from Domingo’s complaint, 311 records confirm that many are not happy with the plates.
A spokeswoman with the Kansas City, Missouri Public Works Department said while crews do not use the plates to cover potholes, they request to place them on the holes so they can do their work while not blocking off the streets.
“The steel plates are a good, temporary way to still allow cars to traverse on the roadways and allow the work to be done,” public information officer Maggie Green said.
KC Water said crews have slightly more than 100 plates in use right now. The agency will be using more of the plates during the spring and summer months, when construction crews are typically working on projects.
So for now, drivers will have to live with this bump in the road.
“We would love to see a concrete truck show up and fill in the holes,” Domingo said.
There is currently no estimated completion date for the project at 32nd and Main streets.
