Penncoyd Bridge

In January 2006 a massive undertaking occurred when the Penncoyd Bridge, named after the company that manufactured it, was moved from beneath the Broadway Bridge to the Freight House. The 1892 span sat unused on the river bluffs since the 1960s. It once provided a rail connection between the early city and the west bottoms. It sat near the spot where the roots of Kansas City Southern began in 1887.

View the video below to see Conrad's photos of the move.

Kansas City Southern donated the bridge. A partnership among Pershing Road Development LLC, Kansas City Terminal Railway, Kansas City Southern, Union Station and the Freight House was responsible for the undertaking. Kansas City Terminal Railway was responsible for the project over its tracks. The Freight House donated an easement in its parking for the north end of the bridge. Union Station made room for the south end to empty into the Sprint Festival Plaza, or north waiting room. Mark One Electric Co. Inc. was in charge of clearing the power lines and traffic signals. Pershing Road Development, one of whose partners is DST Systems Inc., financed the $5 million bridge project.

Permits for the oversized load to cross two bridges on Grand had to be obtained from the Missouri Department of Transportation and with the city. The bridge transport had to be coordinated with sewer work on Grand planned by the KC Live entertainment project. Because Grand is a boulevard, the project also required the OK of the Parks and Recreation Department. All property owners on Grand received notification and that the contractors would be responsible for fixing any damage.

Physically moving the bridge was a spectacle. Two of the three spans , measuring 100 feet and 142 feet long and weighing a combined 137 tons were transported. The sections were too long for a flatbed truck. One end rested on a truck and the other was suspended on wheels for the journey. Overhead utility wires had to be removed. Traffic lights were swiveled on their bases to make way. It was filmed by the history channel and still appears on a segment of Mega Movers.

Eventually the bridge was made into a pedestrian walkway connecting Union Station with the Freighthouse District crossing over the railroad tracks. The APAC-Kansas Inc. construction and hauling company of Overland Park blasted the green lead paint off, cleaned and painted it. The firm of McCownGordon Construction LLC of Kansas City built a “bridge within a bridge” to be suspended inside the steel frame. It has a roof to protect pedestrians from the elements but has open vents on the sides to let in air and light and allow people to see out. The aluminum panels on the sides evoke a passenger train crossing the bridge. The north end of the bridge, which will have an elevator.

From an article in the Kansas City Star

11/2/2005 By Matt Campbell