Broadway Overpass
Broadway Overpass THE CHALLENGE: Create the final link in a series of bridges over a dividing interstate highway. Connect the Central Business District to the cultural core of the city, in time for the opening of the Kauffman Performing Arts Center. In less than ten months. THE SITE: A bridge over Interstate 670 on the eastern edge of the Kansas City, MO skyline. THE PROGRAM: A four lane, 350’ bridge replacement with an 8’ high guard rail.
CONTEXT The Broadway Overpass was the final project in a series of bridge enhancements linking the urban core of downtown Kansas City, MO to the Crossroads Arts District to the south, across the buried interstate highway that divides it.
CONSTRUCTION PROGRESS The structural portion of the bridge was constructed in one eight hour period, in one monolithic pour of nearly 400 cubic yards of concrete.
VIEW FROM INTERSTATE BELOW LED strip lights are mounted to the steel posts of the railing, illuminating the alternating nterior layers of colored acrylic and yellow-coated chain-link fencing.
DESIGNING BY PROTOTYPING The architects’ steel shop served as a testing ground for the guardrail system. Lighting, layering, transparency, and constructability were studied using full scale mock-ups.
INTERIOR VIEWS Detail of access stair system.
VIEW OF WEST GUARDRAIL The varying layers of chain-link fencing filter light and create moirĂŠ patterns that change intensity when perceived at different speeds and angles, by car and by foot.
VIEWS OF EAST GUARDAIL The railing responds to the iconic structure of the Bartle Hall Convention Center behind it. Colored acoustic panels buffer sound from the highway below.
GUARDRAIL SECTIONS The steel guardrail system consists of three typical sections with three varying material layers– aluminized mesh, colored PVC mesh and transparent acrylic sound barrier, lit by horizontal and vertical LED lights.
BEFORE Low guardrails, narrow sidewalks, and insufficient lighting created a loud and unsafe pedestrian environment.
AFTER High guardrails with sound attenuation, widened sidewalks, and the addition of pedestrian lighting as well as street lighting create an environment that is safer and more welcoming.
DETAILS To ensure that it was completed in time for the opening of the neighboring Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, the project was unusually fast-paced, spanning ten months from contract to completion. Detailed and thorough public bid documents ensured that it came in on-time and under budget.
PERFORMANCE QUALIFICATIONS The following sustainable features were employed in the project: Careful use of recyclable materials, including aluminum fencing and locally fabricated structural steel members. Highly efficient, integrated LED pedestrian lights. The bridge is a significant piece of pedestrian infrastructure that encourages walking, cycling, and other environmentally friendly means of transportation. It facilitates safety and walkability and mitigates the acoustical problems of the highway below.