I've gotten a hold of a copy of the original 1950 Paseo Bridge toll study. This was a KCMO led study which looked at a new Missouri River crossing and also some connecting highways. I figured I would share the rendering of the proposed highways as I haven't had time to break up the entire study into manageable PDF sizes.
The general alignment is very different than the 1945 Highway Planning map and maybe the aerials from my "Kansas City Before Freeways" post were used to put this rendering together. I am also guessing this was done right after the 1947 more detailed highway plan. This Paseo Bridge Toll Study eventually connected to the 6th Street Freeway downtown and didn't show anything connecting over to Kansas.
I zoomed in and labeled some of the pictures. I noted Harlem for my good friend Jason Withington. What stood out in this picture is how the road from the Hannibal Bridge split off and went into Harlem the way it did. The zig zag from the ASB Bridge to 6th and Oak was rather strange looking also.
Next is a zoomed in shot of the new bridge and how it would connect to The Paseo. I thought it was interesting they were thinking of bridging Independence over The Paseo (light blue arrow). A bridge there would have solved some of the accident and geometry issues there (and maybe prevented the sleazebag hotel row it became).
Below is a zoomed in shot of the then only Muncipal Airport and Harlem.
It looks like the freeway was built almost according to plan through North Kansas City. I would surmise that the freeway and the interchanges between the River and 16th Avenue allowed NKC to develop the Paseo Industrial District where nothing stood back in the 1940's between the River and railroads.
Once it entered the uplands of southern Clay County, the highways were planned different that how the 29/35 split was built. The alignment from Chouteau and up to Vivion is the same as that followed the old Excelsior Springs Interurban Line till the current day Pleasant Valley interchange.
Below is the US 71 split over into Platte County. This split ended where Gateway leaves Riverside and starts northwest towards Platte City. It appears to me that I-29 was eventually built south of the Vivion and North Oak intersection where the plan had the highway crossing north.
Here's the whole 14MB+/- PDF for you to play around with.
Download 1950-PaseoBridgeTollStudy-IndividualExhibits (1)
In the meantime, I don't know about you but 2015 has been a real interesting and eventful year. There are a lot of things I am very thankful for. For me Christmas Eve worship service is going to be a wonderful fitting end to this year. If you don't have any plans, there are plenty of churches with services but at Antioch Bible Baptist Church in Gladstone, we are having some short services at 4:30, 5:30, and 6:30. If interested, details are here.
I don't know if I will have time to do another post this year (it's freezing outside and I have a couch, a blanket, and a 30# teddy bear to hold) so I want to thank you for reading my hobby page and wish you a Merry Christmas.
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