Northeast News
May 7, 2015

JACKSON COUNTY, Missouri – Missouri Department of Transportation crews have closed the northbound Route 291 bridge over the Missouri River at Sugar Creek today for emergency repairs.

In a press release from the department, MoDOT found significant deterioration during a routine inspection. The timeline for repairs is unknown. Motorists traveling northbound will be moved onto the southbound Route 291 bridge making traffic run one lane each way. The 66-year old northbound bridge carries almost 11,000 vehicles a day, but the closure will impact more than 22,000 motorists who travel both bridges daily.

This is the third river bridge in the Kansas City area that MoDOT has closed in the past year. Crews closed the U.S. Highway 40 Bridge between Manchester Trafficway and I-70 following a regularly scheduled inspection that revealed critical deterioration to the structure in August 2014 and reopened it Friday, April 2, 2015. On April 20, 2015, crews closed the I-70 eastbound to I-35 southbound ramp bridge after a routine inspection found significant deterioration. For more information about other MoDOT projects, please visit MoDOT’s website at www.modot.mo.gov/kansascity.