INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — An Independence, Mo., road project five years in the works is finally finished. A ribbon cutting ceremony will take place Wednesday afternoon at 2 to celebrate the opening of the final section of the Little Blue Parkway in Independence.
Little Blue Parkway opens from 39th Street to 24 Highway this week. It’s a four-lane road seven miles long. The city of Independence says it will promote economic development in the Little Blue River Valley.
The project cost about $55 million and has been completed in several phases over the past five years.
Last fall the road between 39th Street and Bundschu Road opened to traffic. The section of Road between 24 Highway and Bundschu road opens Wednesday.
Public Works Director John Powell says the new street provides a major North and South Street for drivers. He says it’s also good for business.
“We finished up a part from 40 Highway to 39th Street more than 10 years ago and you can look at how much development that’s attracted,” said Powell. “We’re hoping that this extension will attract more development — businesses, housing, office space, so just a variety of land uses.”
The project was paid for mostly with federal highway funds. The ribbon cutting ceremony starts at 2 Wednesday on the west side of Little Blue Parkway between M-78 and Bundschu Road.
