__NOTOC__
The Pencoyd Railroad Bridge is a former
railroad bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
in
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...
, that was converted into the Freight House Pedestrian Bridge and moved to its new location where it connects
Union Station and the
Crossroads Arts District.
Bridge
The bridge was built in 1892 just south of the
Hannibal Bridge as part of the
Kansas City Suburban Belt Railroad, which ran from
Independence, Missouri, to the Argentine District 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 the ...
. Heading west from Independence, the line reached the
Kansas City Southern Railway Manifest Yard in what is now
River Market, Kansas City. It crossed over the
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illin ...
track coming from the Hannibal Bridge over the
Missouri River in an area called The Gooseneck. It then crossed over the
Missouri Pacific track and proceeded west to Kansas City, Kansas.
Pedestrian crossing
In January 2006,
the bridge was relocated to the Union Station in Kansas City to be a
pedestrian crossing
A pedestrian crossing (or crosswalk in American English) is a place designated for pedestrians to cross a road, street or avenue. The term "pedestrian crossing" is also used in the Vienna and Geneva Conventions, both of which pertain to road sig ...
over the railroad tracks there. The bridge was originally built as a three span
thru-truss, but after
relocation, it was rebuilt with two spans instead of three, and adapted into what was renamed the Freight House Pedestrian Bridge.
In January 2014, it was renamed Michael R. Haverty Freight House Bridge in recognition of
Mike Haverty
Mike Haverty (born June 11, 1944) is a fourth generation railroader who began his career as a switchman/brakeman in 1963 for the Missouri Pacific Railroad in his hometown of Atchison, Kansas. In 1970 he went to work for the Atchison, Topeka & S ...
, who had been the chair of the Union Station Kansas City Board from 2005 to 2012.
References
Further reading
* {{cite book, title= Train Watcher's Guide to Kansas City , first=John , last=Szwajkart , year=1991, oclc= 26052416
External links
Historic Bridges of the U.S., Jackson County, Missouri
Railroad bridges in Missouri
Bridges completed in 1892
Pedestrian bridges in Missouri
Rail trail bridges in the United States
Bridges in Kansas City, Missouri
Relocated buildings and structures in Missouri
1892 establishments in Missouri