Historic Bridges of the U.S. | Intercity Viaduct

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Photos

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Oblique view from southeast

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View from southwest

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Lower level, looking east

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Lower level, looking west

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In between bridges

Map

Vicinity map

Map links:

Timeline

Compiled by James Baughn

August 1903: Waddell and Redrick hired to design the bridge
Aug. 9, 1905: Groundbreaking ceremony held
1907: Bridge completed and opened to toll traffic
1911: Creditors foreclose on the bridge due to lack of toll revenue
January 1917: Kansas legislature authorizes Kansas City, Kansas, to work with K.C., Missouri, to purchase the bridge
Oct. 30, 1918: Ceremony held to mark the opening of the bridge to free traffic under city ownership
1930: Lower level roadway added
Nov. 30, 1936: Upper level widened to four lanes after streetcar rails removed
Nov. 12, 1962: Parallel span opened and old viaduct immediately closed for repairs
1963: Old viaduct reopened to carry eastbound traffic
Jan. 25, 1969: Both bridges officially renamed the Lewis and Clark Viaduct
1972: Bridge rehabilitated

Facts

Overview: Two-level deck truss bridge over Kansas River on I-70 Eastbound in Kansas City
Status: Open to four lanes of traffic on upper level and pedestrian traffic on lower level
History: Completed in 1907; lower level added 1930; parallel span opened in 1962
Builder: - Waddell and Redrick
Design: Main spans: Two riveted, 10-panel double-intersection Warren deck trusses, each 300 ft. long
Dimensions: Length of largest span: 300.0 ft.
Total length: 3,775.9 ft.
Deck width: 51.8 ft.
Also called: Lewis and Clark Viaduct (current official name)
Approximate latitude, longitude: +39.11335, -94.61524 (decimal degrees)
39°06'48" N, 94°36'55" W (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates: 15/360353/4330596 (zone/easting/northing)
USGS topographic map: Kansas City
Inventory number: BH 18691 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection (as of 07/2006): Deck condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Superstructure condition rating: Poor (4 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Appraisal: Structurally deficient
Sufficiency rating: 29.8 (out of 100)
Average daily traffic (as of 2006): 26,400

Update Log

April 30, 2008: Updated by Max Johnson
April 29, 2008: New photo from Max Johnson
July 3, 2006: Posted new photos

Comments

Intercity Viaduct

Posted September 22, 2008, by Barbara Pettis (bpettis [at] rsibroadband [dot] net)

How high is the bridge above the Kansas River?

Intercity Viaduct

Posted January 24, 2008, by Local

The lower level of this bridge is not open to auto traffic.

Only bicycles and pedestrians, the lower level was closed somtime in the 80's, restored, and reopened as a pedestrian crossing.

Also, when this bridge was built, it did not have the lower level, the lower level was not added until 1930, and it was only big enough for one lane car traffic.

The reason they closed the lower level to car traffic?

Simple, todays cars are too heavy, cars back in the 30's, 40's, 50's, were not that heavy, however, todys cars and trucks are too heavy for the little one lane truss.

Intercity Viaduct

Posted August 16, 2007, by C Whited (hooleelia [at] kc [dot] rr [dot] com)

Hard to believe this bridge is celebrating its centennial this year! Most locals would not know that the Lewis and Clark is that old. The Minnesota collapse is bringing about a new inspection of this span.