The Grand Street Bridge and roadway between Kansas Expressway and Park Avenue temporarily reopened to traffic Dec. 3. Currently, the road portion of the project is complete and the bridge portion awaiting minor finishes.
Grand Street from Kansas Expressway to Park Avenue will temporarily be marked as two lanes while the project awaits the completion of the new railroad crossing by Missouri & Northern Arkansas Railroad (M&NA). Until the railroad crossing is installed, Grand Street will remain two lanes. Final striping for three lanes will occur in Spring 2019 when temperatures warm up. Grand Street will remain closed to pedestrians until the crossing is finished.
The City has made every attempt to coordinate the new crossing installation with M&NA in a timely manner. Unfortunately, due to looming winter weather and other circumstances, the timeline for the installation of the new crossing is still undetermined.
At this time, the City felt it was important to reopen the roadway to traffic so it can continue serving the community that has patiently awaited the completion of this project.
When M&NA is prepared to install the crossing, Grand Street will need to be closed to traffic once again. Advance notice will be provided to the public.
About the Grand Street Bridge project
The Grand Street Bridge over Jordan Creek improvement project, was identified by citizens as their No. 1 priority in need of improvement in the 2015 city-wide transportation survey.
The project involves the widening of Grand Street to three lanes from Kansas Expressway to Park Avenue, improving both traffic and pedestrian safety. It includes the addition of a center turn lane, upgraded stormwater infrastructure, stream restoration, an improved railroad crossing and the construction of a new bridge over Jordan Creek.
The area, widely used by pedestrians, will also include a new sidewalk on the south side of Grand Street and a multi-use path on the north side that will tie into the existing Ozark Greenways trail system.
The project is funded through the voter-approved 1/8-cent Transportation Sales Tax.