Until spring 2027, drivers in Mission and northern Overland Park can expect delays along Metcalf Avenue.
After a few delays, the Kansas Department of Transportation now expects the Metcalf Avenue repairs of the bridge above Johnson Drive, just east of Shawnee Mission North, to last until spring, KDOT officials told the Post in a Friday email.
This means the $2.15 million project is delayed by several months, as KDOT originally anticipated a December 2026 completion.
The bridge itself, nestled between Martway and West 58th streets, needs a full replacement due to its age, deterioration and raising the vertical clearance to be at industry standards, according to a conceptual study KDOT conducted in 2023-24.
Still, the cost of replacement is more than what was available in the state department’s budget specific for bridge replacement projects. The improvements currently underway are expected to extend the bridge’s life by 10 to 15 years.
Bridge work faces a several-month delay
Delany Tholen, the Kansas City metro area public information officer for KDOT, said in a Friday email that crews experienced delays earlier this year because of “drainage conditions” in the median.
In the median area, Tholen said, water was not draining and this led to the pavement improperly compacting itself.
“When vehicles drove over the road surface, the pavement would get displaced,” Tholen said.
Those drainage conditions required KDOT to revise the project design, which included improving the drainage systems to remove the water and prevent the pavement issues, Tholen said.
Additionally, Tholen said rain and other weather conditions have impacted the work schedule for construction crews.
These two delays pushed the project back by several months, as the original completion date was this December.
Now, KDOT is eyeing a spring 2027 completion.
“It is likely the project will be shut down over the winter and will resume to be completed in the early spring,” Tholen said.
A look at the four phases
KDOT is working through four total phases for the Metcalf Avenue bridge repair project.
Phases one and two are already completed, Tholen said, and included the following:
- The removal and reconstruction of the median
- A mill and overlay of northbound Metcalf Avenue over Johnson Drive
- An auxiliary lane construction of northbound Metcalf Avenue at 58th Street
KDOT is currently in phase three of the project, which includes a mill and overlay of the center lanes, Tholen said.
Phase four, the final phase, includes the following, Tholen said:
- A mill and overlay of southbound Metcalf Avenue over Johnson Drive
- The removal of the Metcalf Lane exit ramp, which will be replaced with a curb and a guardrail
During the final phase, Tholen said that northbound and southbound Metcalf Avenue “traffic will be head-to-head single lanes in each direction.”
Additionally, Tholen said the Johnson Drive to Metcalf Avenue entrance ramp will be closed during phase four. The northbound Metcalf Lane from Johnson Drive to the entrance of Shawnee Mission North will be closed during curb construction work, as well, she said.
Mission’s Johnson Drive project also eyes spring completion
As the Metcalf Avenue bridge repair project eyes a spring completion, so does the nearby $13 million Johnson Drive rehabilitation project in Mission.
The city of Mission is currently underway on the Johnson Drive project, which is focused between Lamar Avenue and the Metcalf Avenue bridge itself.
Since Aug. 24, crews have been in phase two of six of the Johnson Drive project.
During this phase, expected to last several more months, the eastbound lanes of Johnson Drive are completely closed. Drivers are prohibited from crossing the thoroughfare north-south, and are unable to make left turns onto or off of Johnson Drive.
The project, which is impacting small businesses on the western side of Mission, is anticipated to be completed in spring 2027.
Keep reading traffic and roads news: Mission small businesses take hit during $13M Johnson Drive rebuild
