KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) -
The 35,000 drivers who travel Route 169 each day need to look for a new route.
The Missouri Department of Transportation closed the highway, popularly called the Broadway Extension, for five months.
The highway closed from just north of Kansas City's downtown airport to Route 9 at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. The road won't reopen until mid-December.
"We're really going to need the 35,000 cars a day to spread out and kind of balance because if everyone goes the same road, it's going to be really tough," MoDot spokesperson Brian Kidwell said.
MODOT officials said Friday that the closure is necessary to make repairs to a support wall, improve road damage, bolster the bridge and make repairs to the southbound lanes. Officials say there is not enough room to do the work and keep lanes open in part because of the nearby railroad tracks.
"We believe that their quickest route may not be the shortest route. This time, with all the traffic out there, think about where you're going, what your options are and try to take an alternate route," Kidwell said.
Officials ask motorists to think ahead about their detours. Alternative routes over the Missouri River include the Heart of America Bridge, also known as Route 9, and the Bond bridge via Interstate 35/29.
"All the southbound traffic will be pushed onto Route 9. If you don't take the initiative to pick another route, you're going to be forced onto 9 with everybody else and it's likely to be heavily congested," Kidwell said. "If you're going northbound out of downtown, the only place you're going to be able to go is the downtown airport."
Motorists will continue to have access to the downtown airport from downtown via the Broadway Bridge and from Harlem Road to the east.
Pyramid Construction Co. was awarded the construction project.
This isn't the only road work project affecting traffic. In Johnson County, Interstate 635 to Interstate 35 will be closed starting at 8 p.m. Friday and will reopen Monday morning. Merriam Lane to I-35 southbound will also be closed, but will reopen Sunday at 7 p.m. Crews are doing pavement removal and shoulder work.
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