HomeMy WebLinkAboutR-2017-030 Support for New US 169 Buck O'Neil Bridge RESOLUTION NO. R-2017-030
A RESOLUTION STATING THE CITY OF RIVERSIDE, MISSOURI'S SUPPORT FOR A NEW
US 169 BUCK O'NEIL BRIDGE AND DIRECTING THE CITY CLERK TO TRANSMIT A COPY
OF THIS RESOLUTION TO CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS
WHEREAS, the U.S. 169 "Buck" O'Neil Bridge was constructed in the mid 1950's; and
WHEREAS, the Bridge's existing capacity and alignment no longer meet the long-term
needs of the region; and
WHEREAS, in 2016, the Kansas City region, through the Mid-America Regional Council
(MARC), the City of Kansas City, Missouri (KMCO) and the Missouri Department of
Transportation (MoDOT) entered into a partnership to create a long-term plan for the Buck
O'Neil Bridge and surrounding urban highways and at MoDOT's recommendation, an FHWA
Planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) process was funded using $3 million in regional
Surface Transportation Program funds and a local match from KCMG, which has appropriated
nearly $1 million towards this effort; and
WHEREAS, the PEL process is being managed through MARC, is well underway, and is
expected to conclude in 2018 and this study has already had public meetings and the public is
expecting that one of the results of the study will be a comprehensive, long-term look at how a
U.S. 169 river crossing can best serve the region for the next 75 years; and
WHEREAS, the Bridge's age and condition makes any major maintenance both costly
and unsustainable; and
WHEREAS, the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission has released a draft
Statewide Transportation Improvement Program which has proposed approximately $49 million
in state fiscal year 2019 to perform a 35-year rehabilitation of the bridge; and
WHEREAS, the proposed rehabilitation will require an estimated two-year closure of the
bridge; and
WHEREAS, a sustained closure of this bridge would have irreversible and devastating
life-safety and economic impacts to the Kansas City region, including:
• The 24-hour, 7-days per week operations of the Charles Wheeler Downtown Airport
(MKC)
• The life-saving services of the Children's Mercy Hospital Lifeflight, which completed
1140 flight operations at MKC in 2016
• The life-saving services of the Midwest Transplant Network, which completed 709 flight
operations at MKC in 2016
The fire, police and ambulance protection to MKC and Harlem area
• 45,000 daily commutes, including commutes to and from Riverside
The loss of customers to local businesses such as the Red X and Argosy Casino Hotel
and Spa; and
WHEREAS, a rehabilitation of the existing Bridge would not reduce the existing traffic
bottlenecks, allow for future population growth, improve non-motorized travel across the River,
or improve access to MKC, its operations, or its tenants; and
WHEREAS, a rehabilitation would not improve the operational or safety aspects of the
highway corridor; and
WHEREAS, a rehabilitation will not provide a sustainable operational solution resulting
in future rehabilitations that will be similarly costly and disruptive; and
WHEREAS, the proposed 35-year rehabilitation will negate any long-term plans being
developed though the PEL process; and
WHEREAS, a new U.S. 169 Missouri River Bridge could be built to current standards
using construction methods that would not require any substantial maintenance until 2070;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN OF THE
CITY OF RIVERSIDE, MISSOURI AS FOLLOWS:
THAT the Board of Aldermen of the City of Riverside, Missouri ("Board") expresses its
support for the funding of a new US 169 Buck O'Neil Bridge; and
FURTHER THAT the Board requests that the Missouri Highways and Transportation
Commission commit to a long-term solution regarding the US 169 Missouri River crossing by
amending its draft Statewide Transportation Improvement Program as follows:
i. Reduce the planned 35-year rehabilitation of the US 169 Buck O'Neil Bridge to a five-
year rehabilitation, with the funding necessary to perform such a rehabilitation with
minimal disruptions; and
ii. Include the funding necessary to begin the planning, design and regulatory review of a
new US 169 Buck O'Neil Bridge; and
FURTHER THAT a copy of this Resolution be immediately transmitted by the City Clerk
to the Governor of the State of Missouri; the Cass, Clay, Jackson, Platte and Ray Counties
delegation to the Missouri General Assembly; and the Missouri Highways and Transportation
Commission.
PASSED AND AD PTED by the Board of Aldermen and of the City of Riverside,
Missouri, the qday of Qa&4 2017.
• r
Mayor Kathleen L. Rose
ATT .
4
W)fffMid, i:y Clerk