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Broadway Corridor enhancements
underway
Mayor Kay Barnes announced landscaping
improvements, bridge restorations, and the addition of gateway
monuments along the Broadway Corridor at a July 1 event at the Charles
B. Wheeler Downtown Airport.
Mayor Barnes and Tom
Trabon, chairman of the Broadway Corridor Enhancement Program, provided
an update of the ongoing improvements being made along the 3.5-mile
stretch from the Briarcliff Development just north of the river to the
Kansas City Convention Center.
“The Broadway
Corridor truly represents what is possible when Kansas City works
together in making a community-shared vision a reality,”
Mayor Barnes said.
After the briefing, those
in attendance were able to view several displays and an example of the
project signage, and tour one of the Air Forces’ Thunderbird
F-16s.
With Kansas
City’s Fourth of July weekend Aviation Expo kicking off the
following day, Mayor Barnes emphasized the importance of the corridor
beautification project.
“Many tourists
will be visiting Kansas City for the first time this holiday weekend,
and you never get a second chance to make a first
impression,” she said.
Art Deco style
will influence corridor’s monument columns
The largest component of
the plan is the construction of two gateway urban and northland foyers.
Monumental columns have
been designed to create a sense of arrival and tie the roadway into the
Art Deco architecture prevalent in many downtown structures including
City Hall, the Power & Light Building, and the structural
towers at Bartle Hall.
The urban foyer consists of
the construction of one monument column each at the intersections of
Broadway Street and Fifth and Sixth streets, along with directional
signage.
The northland foyer
consists of a pair of monument columns on both sides of the Broadway
Extension, which will be surrounded by landscaping. Construction is
slated to begin this summer.
Bridge
improvements and other aesthetic changes to come
The Broadway Bridge, one of
five bridges that cross the Missouri River from the north, will be
illuminated and painted as part of the Missouri River Bridge
Enhancement Program. The program is a collaborative effort of
government and civic leaders.
The Broadway Bridge was the
first of the bridges to receive a fresh coat of paint and have its
arches and cables illuminated from the deck.
Landscaping improvements
along the east and west channels of the corridor include the
installation of plants and irrigation channels, the removal of
billboards, and the addition of directional signage.
The beautification effort
of the gateway from the Northland to Kansas City’s downtown
has been a collaborative effort put forth by the City in cooperation
with the following entities:
Downtown Council
Missouri Department of
Transportation
City of North Kansas City
City of Riverside
Northland Community
Foundation
Kansas City Power &
Light
Economic Development
Corporation
Northland Regional Chamber
of Commerce
Convention and
Visitor’s Bureau. |
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