All you need to know about the Range Line/KCS RR bridge closure

Joplin – Drivers need to look for alternate routes because the Range Line Road (Business Loop 49) bridge over the Kansas City Southern Railroad is CLOSED.

Here’s all you need to know:

• All lanes of Range Line Road (Business Loop 49) over the railroad tracks will be CLOSED for the duration of the project
• The project is projected to last until mid-December
• Drivers will have access to entrances on either end of the bridge, but will not be able to drive through the work zone
• There will be NO left turns from eastbound 32nd Street on to Davis Boulevard…which is just east of Range Line.
• The official detour map has traffic rerouted to Highway 249, 7th Street, 32nd Street and I-44.
• Signs and message boards will alert drivers to the bridge closing
• Check MoDOT’s Traveler Information Map for road closings/traffic impacts

Contractor crews are removing the current bridge and replacing it with a new structure that will be two (2) feet higher and 15 feet wider than the current one. The contractor is also constructing new sidewalks on either side of the bridge.

The current structure was built in 1976 and is experiencing increasing deterioration. Approximately 24,580 vehicles cross the bridge daily.

This bridge is included in Gov. Mike Parson’s $351 million Focus on Bridges program, which will repair or replace 250 bridges across the state.