Visit to Bond Bridge (kcICON Project) in KC

By Robert Thompson, on February 28th, 2012

I was finally able to make my first visit to the Bond Bridge in Kansas City since it was completed. It is a very beautiful bridge that fits well into the approach to Kansas City from the north. As foundation engineers, we don’t always get a convenient opportunity visit the large bridge structures we work on since our work is usually completed very early in the overall schedule. We are often too involved in other projects by the time a bridge is finished on which we were the foundation/geotechnical engineer. So, it was a personal pleasure to make a visit and drive over the bridge when John Turner and I flew into Kansas City on our way to Topeka to present the NHI Drilled Shaft Course earlier this month. Although it was a cloudy and cold day, I think the few photos I took with my phone (camera battery was dead!) turned out good. Mouse over each for a caption. Enjoy!

Click here for previous posts on this bridge.

kcICON Project Opens Ahead of Schedule

By Robert Thompson, on January 3rd, 2011

The kcICON project in Kansas City has been completed six months ahead of schedule and within budget with all lanes and ramps being open on December 18th. Demolition has begun on the existing Paseo bridge. You can see some photos of the demolition (like the one in this post – thanks kcICON!) at their Facebook page. It was a great experience for us to have been a part of this project. If you want to see all of our previous posts on this, click here. Other points of interest are linked below.

The Kansas City District of MoDOT

kcICON Bridge Nears Completion

By Robert Thompson, on November 2nd, 2010

Paul received a few photos of the kcICON bridge that are just too cool not to share. These were sent to him by Massman Construction. These were taken in September of this year. MoDOT’s Flicker album of the dedication ceremony is here. The new bridge was dedicated and partially opened to traffic (southbound) on September 27th. The northbound traffic was shifted to the new structure on October 22nd. All of the bridges and ramps for the project will be opened by the end of the year – 6 months ahead of schedule. Can’t wait to see it after the exisitng bridge is demoloshed, though it is a pretty cool image with the old and new bridges together. Updates for the project are on the project Facebook Page.

Click here for previous posts on kcICON.

kcICON project moving along – see it on Facebook and YouTube

By Robert Thompson, on January 11th, 2010

The kcICON project in Kansas City, Missouri is using Facebook and YouTube as a public relations tool. They have recently posted new videos and pictures. The latest video is of demolition of one of the existing approach structures. It is all done for public relations, so the photos and videos are oriented for the general public, showing how the project is moving along, how their tax dollars are being spent, and providing information on lane closures, etc.

The kcICON Facebook page is here. The project website with more photos and a web cam is here. You can also follow the project on Twitter here.

I expect we’ll see more use of Facebook, Twitter, etc. on projects in the future. It appears to be effective, at least for the techno-savy crowd!

kcICON Bridge article in Roads and Bridges

By Robert Thompson, on November 30th, 2009

An article on the kcICON bridge project was published in the November 2009 issue of Roads and Bridges magazine. The article was written by Pat Cassity, P.E. of Parsons Transportation Group, Brian Kidwell, P.E. of MoDOT, and Pat Byrne, P.E. of Massman. The on-line version is here. I have also posted a PDF on the kcICON page our Consulting Projects page you can access by clicking the image below.