Month: May 2014

Gibbs Road Bridge demolition project results in lane closures on I-635

The Gibbs Road Bridge demolition project on I-635 has resulted in some lane and ramp closures, according to the Kansas Department of Transportation.

All northbound and southbound I-635 lane clsoures will take place between Speaker Road on the north end to Merriam Lane on the south end, in Kansas City, Kan., a KDOT spokesman said.

Bridge demolition will be handled through a series of steps, KDOT said. First crews will use a piece of equipment called a breaker to break up the sections of the bridge deck that are not over the actual traffic lanes during daytime hours this week.

Next, they will saw and then remove pieces of the bridge (via a backhoe and dump truck operation) that would normally be over traffic during the overnight hours this week.

Then early next week, crews will remove the bridge girders via a crane operation during the overnight hours with short-rolling roadblocks for I-635 traffic. This work is all contingent on weather, and schedules may be changed.

Lane closure schedule:
Tuesday, May 6:
8:30 a.m.-4 p.m.  Southbound I-635 will be reduced to two open lanes
9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Northbound I-635 will be reduced to two open lanes
7 p.m.-9 p.m. Northbound and southbound I-635 will be reduced to two open lanes
9 p.m.-5 a.m. (Wednesday, May 7) Northbound and southbound I-635 will be reduced to one open lane

Wednesday, May 7
7 p.m.-9 p.m. Northbound and southbound I-635 will be reduced to two open lanes
9 p.m.-5 a.m. (Thursday, May 8)  Northbound and southbound I-635 will be reduced to one open lane

Thursday, May 8
7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Northbound and southbound I-635 will be reduced to two open lanes
9 p.m. to 5 a.m. (Friday, May 9)  Northbound and southbound I-635 will be reduced to one open lane

Friday, May 9
9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Northbound I-635 will be reduced to two open lanes

Monday, May 12
7 p.m.-9 p.m.  Northbound and southbound I-635 will be reduced to two open lanes
9 p.m. to 5 a.m. (Tuesday, May 13)   Northbound and southbound I-635 will be reduced to one open lane

Ramps from eastbound and westbound I-70 to I-635 and from K-32 to southbound I-635 will be closed. Traffic will follow a marked detour via to 18th Street Expressway.
There will be rolling roadblocks for southbound I-635 traffic throughout the overnight hours to allow for the removal of bridge girders.

Tuesday, May 13
7 p.m.-9 p.m. Northbound and southbound I-635 will be reduced to two open lanes
9 p.m.-5 a.m. (Wednesday, May 14)    Northbound and southbound I-635 will be reduced to one open lane

Ramps from northbound and southbound I-35 to I-635 will be closed. Traffic will detour via I-35 to 18th Street Expressway to I-70.
There will be rolling roadblocks for northbound I-635 traffic throughout the overnight hours to allow for the removal of bridge girders.

Updated daily traffic information for this project and for the entire Kansas City metro area can be viewed online at www.ksdot.org/kcmetro/laneclose.asp.

The Kansas Department of Transportation urges all motorists to be alert, obey the warning signs, and slow down when approaching and driving through the project work zone. The scheduled completion date for the entire project is early September 2014, weather permitting.

Hazmat crews respond to chlorine leak

Hazmat crews responded to a reported chlorine leak at 4:35 p.m. Friday, May 2, at Johnson County Water One, 7601 Holliday Drive, Kansas City, Kan.

Upon arrival, crews were informed that a one-ton chlorine tank had been leaking inside a water purification building, according to a spokesman for the Kansas City, Kan., Fire Department. The crews detected above-normal chlorine readings in the area of the storage building.

A Water One employee had turned off the tank to prevent further release before the Hazmat crew arrived.

Fire crews took monitoring equipment to a residential area near the water plant to determine if residents needed to evacuate because of the release. Crews determined readings were at a safe level and the chlorine release had been dispersed by prevailing winds.

Hazmat crews donned level A suits to check if the tank was still leaking. They determined there was no further release from the tank. Water One then proceeded with repairs to the equipment.

There were no injuries.

Town hall meeting planned May 8 on KCK downtown Healthy Campus

Mayor Mark Holland is inviting the public to a town hall meeting Thursday, May 8, to introduce the new Downtown “Healthy Campus” development.

The meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. and will be held in the Commission Chambers, City Hall, 701 N. 7th St., Kansas City, Kan.

The site being reviewed is near Big 11 Lake at the intersection of 10th Street and State Avenue, where planning has begun for a new grocery store and community center. Gould Evans Architects has been hired to develop an Implementation Plan for the project. Members of the community will have the opportunity Thursday night to speak with the consultants and offer ideas to be considered in the planning process.

“The Healthy Campus will not only help us meet the basic nutritional and exercise needs of our downtown residents, but also represents more than $30 million of economic development in a location that has a strong need for investment and growth,” Holland said. “My hope is that this development will serve as a national model for healthy living in an urban area.”

Mayor Holland and Gould Evans Architects will open the Town Hall before attendees break in to small groups for facilitator-led brainstorming and discussion. Also on the agenda is a special presentation from the Wyandotte Health Foundation.

Those unable to attend may view the meeting live on UGTV (Time Warner Channel 2, Google Fiber Channel 141 and WOW Channel 25) and it will also be posted on the Unified Government’s YouTube channel the following week.

–    Story from Mayor Mark Holland’s office