This abandoned Kansas City bridge will be a vibrant entertainment district

Kansas City’s Rock Island Bridge has long sat vacant. Once a railroad bridge used to transport cattle from nearby stockyards, this summer it will become an entertainment district that juts out over the Kansas River, transforming the century-old span into a new neighborhood-building attraction.



The 702-foot span over the Kansas River—which crosses the Kansas and Missouri state lines and has a landing in each state—will become a combination event center, restaurants and dining hub, and trail that will create 35,000 square feet of public space above the waterway. Developed by the city of Kansas City, Missouri, in partnership with philanthropic donations and Mike Zeller, a former PBS executive, the redevelopment opportunity has been in the works for years.



[Image: © Multistudio]



Zeller first saw the bridge on a boating trip more than a decade ago, and jokingly suggested someone should develop the space, maybe create a restaurant called “chicken on a bridge.” He’s about to turn that vision into reality.



“It’s essentially been a piece of antique infrastructure that’s more of a liability than anything else,” says Multistudio principal Dennis Strait, who helped design the infrastructure reuse. “The reason the railroad wanted to get rid of it was they just didn’t want it on their books anymore, and it would be an expensive thing to tear down.”



[Image: © Multistudio]



Despite its advanced age, the 124-year old steel-and-concrete bridge remains in great shape. Unlike bridges that are open to cars, it was never salted for snow removal, which speeds up deterioration. After engineers from Thornton Tomasetti confirmed its structural stability, Multistudio architects arrived at a double-decker design, with restaurants, a coffee shop and a public trail on the main level, and the second floor boasting a 300-person event space and additional bar, all flanked by a 35-foot tall polycarbonate panel-encased atrium.



“Walking onto these old bridges is like walking into a gothic cathedral, because they’re so tall and vertical,” says Strait. “We didn’t want to lose that.”



Because the structural infrastructure is pre-built and in great shape, the design and development team could use simple material like polycarbonate panels and structural steel to widen the span. The entire project was completed for just $16 million.



[Image: © Multistudio]



Located near the city’s West Bottoms neighborhood, the reimagined bridge project seeks to become an anchor in an underinvested area. Events spaces and community zones will flank each levee, and two sets of trails on either side of the river will be joined by the new project. New construction on the riverfront, including apartments and recreational facilities, will magnify the new development’s draw.



Rails-to-trails conversions have blossomed since the advent of the High Line (the Rock Island Bridge project will become part of the High Line Network when it’s completed). But bridge conversions offer a potential new means of turning unused infrastructure into public amenities. Zeller is already pitching similar ideas to other cities, since there’s a surplus of unused rail bridges available for reuse. Multistudio hopes what they’re calling a “destination landmark bridge” becomes a model for other urban waterfronts. 



“Kansas City’s always had this love-hate relationship with its rivers,” says Strait. “In another 20 years, we hope this bridge becomes a recreational watersports center, and changes people’s attitudes about living down here.”