By Leslie Collins
Northeast News
November 9, 2011

It’s official. Front Street at I-435 is now a diverging diamond interchange (DDI).

Clarkson Construction Company crews began construction in early April on the $8.1 million project and finished most of the work this past weekend.

The DDI project modified the interchange to shift Front Street traffic beneath the I-435 bridges to the left side.

The design, adapted from a similar intersection in Versailles, France, moves traffic more quickly than conventional interchanges, particularly where there is a high volume of left turns.

During this past weekend, crews paved Front Street beneath the I-435 underpass and shut down Front Street in both directions, as well as closing the connecting ramps to I-435 to finish paving, restore traffic signals, install signs and stripe lanes.

Crews will complete the rest of the project in the coming weeks by pouring concrete islands and installing permanent striping and permanent traffic signals.

For more information about the project, visit www.modot.mo.gov/kansascity or follow the project on Twitter via MoDOT_KC.