The 18th Street Expressway Bridge is a one level
deck truss
A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...
, four lane crossing of the
Kansas River
The Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, is a river in northeastern Kansas in the United States. It is the southwesternmost part of the Missouri River drainage, which is in turn the northwesternmost portion of the extensive Mississippi River dr ...
in
Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of ...
.
It was built in 1959, to replace the
Argentine Bridge
The Argentine Bridge was a one lane, thru-truss bridge over the Kansas River in Kansas City, Kansas.
It was built in 1908, and removed in 1959, after the 18th Street Expressway Bridge was built to the east of it.
It was damaged in the flood of 19 ...
to the west.
It also rises above the BNSF railroad tracks.
It was damaged in 2000, after a BNSF train derailed and destroyed one of the piers, which caused the south approach span to buckle, and disabled it for several months while it was being repaired.
The bridge has no significant shoulder (breakdown lane) and no pedestrian walkway.
Bridges over the Kansas River
Bridges in Kansas City, Kansas
Bridges completed in 1959
Road bridges in Kansas
U.S. Route 69
Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System
1959 establishments in Kansas
Truss bridges in the United States
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