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KDOT to remove U Street bridge deck overnight; city warns of US‑73 closure and detours
Summary
KDOT and contractor KAWS Construction plan to remove the U Street (US‑73) bridge deck during a planned overnight closure on April 16; local traffic will be detoured onto city streets and public works and police will coordinate.
The Kansas Department of Transportation’s contractor, KAWS Construction, plans to remove the deck of the U Street bridge on US‑73 during an overnight full closure currently targeted for the night of April 16, with a 7 p.m. start and reopening around 7 a.m., city staff said.
City Manager Mark Westhoff briefed the commission on the schedule and said the contractor will first close one lane in each direction on April 14 for edge work, then fully close the highway for the deck removal. "They plan to completely shut down US 73 in both directions for 1 night, remove the U Street bridge, and open up the highway in the morning," Westhoff said. He added that truck traffic will be detoured and local traffic can bypass closures on city streets such as Fifth and Sixth avenues.
Westhoff said the bridge deck removal will not be an implosion; demolition is expected to be done in large pieces using cranes and conventional demolition methods. He said KDOT and the city will coordinate barricades, temporary dead-ends on the east side of U Street and potential aesthetic measures such as tree plantings or a fence in remaining dead-end areas.
Police and public works will work with KDOT on traffic control; Westhoff said additional public notices will be issued once the dates are confirmed. The city also plans separate grading, seeding and follow-up work at the site; full replacement of the Patriot Street bridge and related utility relocations are scheduled as part of KDOT work later this summer, with sewer relocation work beginning in the coming days.
Residents were asked to monitor city announcements for the confirmed schedule and detour maps.
