Christopher S. Bond Bridge 2.97

The Christopher S. Bond Bridge in Kansas City, Missouri (often referred to as the New Paseo Bridge) is a cable-stayed bridge across the Missouri River. It carries I-29/I-35/US 71. The bridge opened to limited traffic on September 27, 2010 and all lanes opened on December 18, 2010. The Bond bridge is a replacement for the Paseo Bridge.The bridge is named for Christopher "Kit" Bond, the former Missouri Governor and United States Senator.HistoryOn November 14, 2007, MoDOT announced plans for a complete replacement of the Paseo Bridge. The new Christopher S. Bond Missouri River Bridge is a dual-span cable-stayed bridge, anchored by a 260ft tall delta-shaped pylon. The pylon rises 316ft above the Missouri River. The new bridge increased the roadway capacity from two lanes each direction to three lanes southbound on the bridge and 4 lanes northbound on the bridge, one northbound lane being an auxiliary lane. The bridge is designed to have four through lanes each way at a future date without needing to widen the bridge.In December 2007, the Federal Aviation Administration warned that the pylon might interfere with traffic at Kansas City Downtown Airport, a mile to the west. In August 2008, the FAA altered flight procedures at the airport to give planes more than 700ft of clearance above the pylon. Construction on the Bond bridge began in April 2008, just downstream of the Paseo bridge. This allowed the Paseo bridge to remain open to traffic during construction. With the opening of the Bond bridge, demolition of the Paseo bridge started, and was completed on July 1, 2011.