KSHB 41 reporter Rachel Henderson covers neighborhoods in Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties. Share your story idea with Rachel.
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Local businesses in Kansas City, Kansas, are feeling the financial strain with the Turner Diagonal Bridge still closed after two years and the project's completion date now pushed back to May 2026.
The eastbound and westbound K-32/Turner Diagonal Freeway bridges over Kaw Drive and the Union Pacific Railroad were closed in 2022 for demolition and rebuilding.
The bridges, originally constructed in 1959, had increasing maintenance costs and were scheduled for regular replacement.
The $22.7 million replacement project was initially scheduled to be completed in 2024, but has faced multiple delays.
That leaves businesses in the Turner area feeling isolated and business owners say its a struggle to maintain normal operations.
Lillie Trower, who owns Hairmasters salon, has been in business since 1984.
Trower's salon sits two minutes from the closed bridge. She said the closure has directly impacted her business.
"For me, yes, it's frustrating," Trower said. "It's frustrating because the diagonal has been closed for like two years."
The bridge closure forces customers to find alternate routes, causing delays and missed appointments.
Some of her longtime clients are reluctant to navigate the detours.
"Some of the clients are older and don't want to drive down there on (Interstate) 635," Trower said. "Clients sometimes will call and say, 'We're stuck behind a train and we can't get there.'" "And I just have to wait," Trower said.
The prolonged closure has led to Trower losing customers as people seek services elsewhere.
"I think people have went other places over on the northern side," Trower said. "Once it's closed, and then people can't get here, my business then just drops down."
Trower said she has reached out to local officials for answers, but has received little response.
"There's no answer," she said. "Nobody answers. No one's responding. We're just over here by ourselves. It's just like, 'Okay, you're forgotten.'"
Despite the challenges, Trower remains committed to her location and loyal customers.
"Over the years, a lot of people have been very faithful," Trower said. "We depend on our business. I'm gonna wait it out."
Trower said she has spoken with other business owners who share her frustration.
"I talked to Jimmy and Debbie that have The Windmill, the coffee shop, and they're frustrated with it too," Trower said.
Jimmy and Debra Ybarra own The Windmill KC coffee shop, located just a few doors down from Trower's salon.
Jimmy Ybarra estimates their business has declined by 30% since the bridge closure.
"We're hurting," Jimmy Ybarra said. "We feel helpless."
The couple said the bridge closure has forced them to scale back their business expectations and hold back on expansion plans.
"We're here and we want to serve the community," Jimmy Ybarra said.
The closure created significant challenges for their operations and growth potential.
"The date keeps on changing to a later date, and so in the meantime, we're holding down some of our expenses because we can't perform our business at the level that we'd like to," Jimmy Ybarra said. "We'd like to expand our horizons, but that seems almost impossible because of situations like this."
Ybarra expressed frustration with what he perceives as a lack of urgency from officials.
"These people are, I think, in my opinion, dragging their feet. And they're doing it at the expense of the minority people here and all the demographics included," Jimmy Ybarra said.
The revenue loss has forced the business to find creative ways to maintain operations.
"We have to find ways to bring those revenues in," Debra Ybarra said. "What has helped us is our strong community.”
Debra Ybarra said the uncertainty makes it difficult to operate and grow their business effectively.
"It is very frustrating, you know, whenever you have a business and you're not free to exercise what you know to do to make our business grow," Debra Ybarra said.
Despite being committed to the area, the Ybarras said the situation feels isolating.
"We're committed to this area, so it's almost impossible for us to move out to another demographic," Jimmy Ybarra said.
The Kansas Department of Transportation said the project site presents unique challenges because of its proximity to active railroad operations. That requires ongoing coordination with Union Pacific Railroad to secure daily work approvals and track clearance windows.
KDOT said delays have happened because of these challenges, but the department and project contractors have adjusted the schedule to work both nights and days, as allowed by Union Pacific Railroad, to continue moving the project toward completion.
The Turner Diagonal Bridge is one of several bridges closed in Kansas City, Kansas.
While the Unified Government funds the Central Street and Kansas Avenue bridges, KDOT oversees the others, including Turner Diagonal.
KSHB 41’s Rachel Henderson spoke with the Unified Government's Public Works Department about those two bridge closures in August.
Although they initially planned to have an update for county commissioners by December, the UG’s contractor requested an extension for their submittal until late February. They want to explore “some potential additional opportunities with KDOT and the UG’s neighbors across the river.”
A Public Works Department spokesperson said once that’s received, the department would request to get the findings in a public meeting sometime in March.
"We're just kind of isolated in this little Turner area," Trower said.
After three years of waiting, Trower said she simply wants transparency about the project's progress.
"I would like for somebody to say that they are working on it and they would hope to get it opened up within a reasonable length of time," Trower said. "Two years is a long time to have a main thoroughfare closed."
Jimmy Ybarra said the frustration extends beyond individual businesses.
"There seems to be a frustration amongst all of us," Ybarra said. "I try to encourage people to stand up and unite together, but it's very difficult to deal with it collectively."
The Ybarras remain hopeful that once the bridge reopens, their business will recover.
"We're anticipating it to really become lucrative at that point," Jimmy Ybarra said.
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.
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