KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Getting to the West Bottoms may prove tricky for a lot of folks over the next two months. That’s because the Missouri Department of Transportation is getting ready to close the 12th Street bridge on Friday. West Bottoms business owners are worried customers will have a hard time getting to them.
12th Street is a main route in and out of the West Bottoms. MoDOT is going to be replacing the ramps and the 12th Street bridge over Interstate 35.
Traffic on the west side of the downtown loop this weekend will be detoured on I-670 to the east side of the loop so crews can demolish the 12th Street bridge.
The bridge is not expected to reopen until early September, and that has caused concern for West Bottoms business owners like Todd Schulte.
Schulte owns the Genessee Royale Bistro and he worries diners will have a hard time getting to his restaurant.
“That’s going to be my biggest concern about it,” Schulte said. “Fortunately I don’t usually have to use the bridge that often to get down here. There’s plenty of back ways down here. But it’s getting our guests to figure out the best way to get down here once that happens.”
Schulte says he’s working on educating his diners about alternate routes, including using 23rd Street on the south, or coming in from the River Market area on the north side of downtown. Those who work in the West Bottoms say it’s going to be a challenge getting in and out without the 12th street connection to downtown.
“Especially with all the buildings in the warehouse district, you get a lot of antique malls and just people coming down here,” said Patrick Drake, who works in the West Bottoms. “I’m sure that 12th Street is primary entry point.”
There’s also been some grumbling that much of the 12th Street bridge was closed and reconstructed just a few years ago.
The bridge should reopen in time for the Halloween season when haunted houses attract a lot of people to the West Bottoms.
The 12th Street bridge will shut down Friday beginning at 10 p.m.
