824

Barry Road Special Addition 

August 15th, 2008 marked the beginning of a disruption in our daily lives that would continue for 824 days...and counting.  The Bridge on Barry Road that serves our community as well as our neighbors in KCMO on the north was closed to traffic.  The beginning of a new school year was imminent, bus routes had to be altered.  Commutes for many Westsiders had to reroute through a KCMO neighborhood, Wildwood.  A trip for shopping, getting gas, going to a school function now became a winding oddesey...there and back.  Upset and angry at first, then capitulation to a process managed by the politicians, we waited.  First for the construction to begin, well over a year, then for the construction to be completed...a work in progress.  So today, at 9AM, the bridge will reopen, attended by Funkhouser, Johnson, Ford and others.  I'll try to attend the festivities and post here.  In the meantime, here is a little retrospective from the past.

August 22nd, 2008 Parkville Luminary
"In a perfect world, Weatherby Lake would be paying for (the repair) since they're the ones who use it" KCMO Councilman Ford said of the bridge which lies in Kansas City's jurisdiction."
Funkhouser, August 29, 2008
“Two and a half years to replace the bridge is too long” “We want to be a good neighbor” “Routing (traffic) through a residential area is not good” We need to pay attention…city staff should talk and listen” 
“What is a realistic timeframe for the bridge replacement?” Funkhouser mentioned the I-35 bridge in MN…if they could do it in a year we could do this too."

September 7th, 2008
Mayor Funkhouser cited the building of the Sprint Center and the rebuilding of the I-35 Bridge in MN as examples of projects that took less time than the closure of the BRB is guesstimated. FYI, the bridge in Minneapolis collapsed on Aug 1st, 2007. It will be completed soon, see latest from today's Minneapolis StarTribune

October 4th, 2008
Just finished a discussion with Mayor Jerry Bos of Weatherby Lake. KCMO Councilmen Ed Ford and Russ Johnson will not attend the WL Board of Aldermen meeting, tomorrow night, Tuesday the 7th. The exact reasons are unclear, other than it was mutual. Mr Ford was interested in proposing a $1.6 million fix for the BRB, $550,000 to come from WL. Another proposal was/is to use Army type bridging for a temporary fix. Unclear if either proposal or others are on the table. At least not for tomorrow night.

Oh, the irony...

Today's KC Star, page A5

The Paseo Bridge will close today as all lanes, north and south, will be open on the new Bond Bridge.  The $245 million dollar project began in the spring of 08 and substantially beat project estimates for completion.  If you haven't been over the Bond bridge take a ride this weekend, it is a beauty.  Consider and compare the two bridge projects, Barry and Bond...hmmm.