Central Avenue Bridge Closure

Published on February 01, 2021

The Central Avenue Bridge over the Kansas River between 3rd  and James Streets will be closed effective February 1, 2021. The closure is needed to perform a structural analysis.

Public Works was notified on February 1 by the firm contracted to evaluate Unified Government-owned bridges that the Central Avenue Bridge over the Kansas River is experiencing extensive deterioration of its bottom truss members.  The deterioration of the now 102-year-old bridge is enough to cause concern about failure. 

To protect the public, the County Engineer ordered the bridge closed immediately for further analysis between 3rd and James Streets.  A decision about the bridge’s future will be made when the analysis is complete.  For now, the bridge will remain closed to traffic indefinitely.  Public Works will provide updates as analysis results, solutions, and timelines become available.

Download or view a copy of the detour plan for this area by clicking here(PDF, 2MB).