By Joe Jarosz
Northeast News
September 2, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Missouri —This past spring, Cliff Drive was supposed to re-open to the public with new amenities and only one lane of vehicle traffic.

Cliff Drive, a state scenic byway in historic Northeast Kansas City, closed to vehicular traffic on Nov. 26, 2014, for construction projects that included renovation of stairs and overlooks, road striping and improvements to bike trails. The original anticipated reopening of the scenic byway was this past June.

Spring sprung with no reopening. Summer is almost over and still, the gates to Cliff Drive remain closed.

So, what happened? As Milli Vanilli once sang, blame it on the rain. From May 1- 31, Kansas City saw more than 10 inches fall upon the city. June wasn’t much better, with an additional eight inches. Scott Overbay, project manager said all this rain caused the delays.

“Everything was put behind schedule [because of the rain],” Overbay said. “With the rain, work was just shut down.”

Barring anymore delays, Overbay added Cliff Drive — which runs from The Paseo and Maple Boulevard to Gladstone Boulevard and Elmwood Avenue — should reopen this fall. Once it reopens, Cliff Drive will turn into a one-way road for vehicles. Earlier this year, the Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners approved the Cliff Drive Traffic Management Plan, which would reduce the two-lane road to one along the three-mile long road, turning the scenic byway into a one-way road for vehicles, and opening the other lane to foot and bicycle traffic. The plan also calls for the closing of two gates.

“Cliff Drive will reopen before the construction is complete, but I’m not sure how soon before,” Overbay said.