The Kansas Turnpike Bridges are a pair of multi-beam girder bridge that carry the Kansas Turnpike and Interstate 70 over the Kansas River at Lawrence, Kansas.
Kansas Turnpike Bridges | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 38°59′31″N 95°14′21″W / 38.9920°N 95.2393°W |
| Carries | 6 lanes of   I-70 / Kansas Turnpike |
| Crosses | Kansas River |
| Locale | Lawrence, Kansas |
| Maintained by | KTA |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | 2 Deck Truss Bridges (original spans), 2 multi-beam girder bridges (current span) |
| History | |
| Opened | 1956 (original spans)[1] 2009 (current westbound span)[2] 2010 (current eastbound span)[3] |
| Location | |
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The first bridges were a pair of deck trusses, each carrying two lanes of traffic. The bridges were the site of the groundbreaking of the Turnpike on December 31, 1954.[1] The bridges, along with the rest of the Turnpike, was opened for a day of free travel on October 20, 1956, between 6 a.m. and 2pm.,[4] then opened for regular traffic on October 25 at 10 a.m.[1]
The bridge was widened and rebuilt sometime after 1973.[citation needed]
By 2007, the bridges were considered to be at the end of their design life, and a project to replace the bridges was begun.[5] The first of the two new bridge was opened to traffic in October 2009, carrying 2 lanes in each direction.,[2] with the demolition of the old bridge occurring with several blasts, the first of which occurred on November 15, 2009[6] and the last on January 13, 2010.[7] The second bridge was completed in late 2010, with traffic moved onto the new bridge on November 29.[3]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Big Impact Seen For Local Area In Superhighway". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. October 24, 1956. pp. 1–2.
- ^ a b Fagan, Mark (October 22, 2009). "Thousands of vehicles to roll across new bridge today". Lawrence Journal-World. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
- ^ a b "Kansas River Bridges update #65" (Press release). Kansas Turnpike Authority. November 28, 2010. Retrieved December 1, 2010.
- ^ "KTA Officials Say Traffic Heavy on Pike This Morning". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. October 20, 1956. p. 2.
- ^ Lawhorn, Chad (August 3, 2007). "5 bridges in county 'deficient'". Lawrence Journal-World. pp. 1A, 5A. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
- ^ Fagan, Mark (November 16, 2009). "Bridge no match for explosives". Lawrence Journal-World. pp. 1A, 4A. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
- ^ "Another piece of turnpike bridge falls into Kansas River basin". Lawrence Journal-World. January 13, 2010. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
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