Rock Island Bridge delays opening; over-the-river entertainment hub set to debut spring 2025

The opening of a “destination landmark bridge” — set to reshape Kansas City’s West Bottoms amid an aggressive district-wide redevelopment boom — is now expected to be pushed back to spring 2025 as leaders of the Rock Island Bridge project refine plans for its public debut.

Mike Laddin and Mike Zeller, Flying Truss, at the Rock Island Bridge, November 2023; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News

“To ensure everything is in place and working at the highest standard for our guests, we’ve made the difficult decision to delay the grand opening of the Rock Island Bridge until spring,” said Mike Zeller, CEO of Flying Truss, which is leading the Rock Island Bridge effort. “In the interim, there will be opportunities for the public to experience this remarkable transformation on guided tours.”

A public-private partnership that also taps into philanthropic and corporate funding, the project reimagines the historic 1905 bridge as a gathering space and entertainment hub with music, dining, coffee shops, bars, trailhead services, and more. It is expected to boast 35,000 square feet of usable space — all elevated 60 feet above the Kansas River.

ICYMI: How Rock Island Bridge is turning 3 million pounds of steel into KC’s next entertainment hub

The redevelopment — not far from the Hy-Vee Arena — aims to not only reactivate the bridge, but use the structure as a catalyst for economic development and revitalization along the waterfront, as well as a means to physically connect Kansas City, Missouri, and Kansas City, Kansas.

It previously was set to open to the public later in 2024.

Image courtesy of Flying Truss

Rock Island Bridge; photo courtesy of Rock Island Bridge

“Going first is rarely simple or straightforward, and this is compounded by the need to navigate the U.S. Army Corps levee raise going on at both ends of the bridge. But we’re on the 20-yard line, and this gives us the time to ensure everything is running smoothly for our guests, and at a standard that this national-level project requires,” Zeller explained in a press release about the delay. “Also, as the bridge is designed to close every January and February, this avoids the back-and-forth scenario of a brief autumn opening, closing for winter, and then reopening in the spring.”

Once completed, the project is expected to offer the nation’s first entertainment district on a bridge by adding shops and restaurants overlooking the river, with a pedestrian path connecting to Kansas levee-trails system and the Greenline Trail.

“This is a barn-raising effort to create something first here in Kansas City, with people from across the community pulling together to get it done,” said Zeller. “We can’t wait to celebrate with you all this spring — over the river!”

Click here for updates on the Rock Island Bridge project.