A stretch of limited-access highway over three-quarters of a century in the making, the North Loop runs through downtown Kansas City, MO where I-35 and I-70 meet at the Lewis and Clark Viaduct on top of bluffs overlooking the West Bottoms to I-29’s southernmost point underneath Independence Ave between Troost and Forest in the east. Part of the city’s wider expressway system serving citizens from River Market and Columbus Park to those in far-flung Platte County, it is an arguable fulcrum in the balancing act of regional economic interests. The North Loop’s role as such was spelled out as early as 1951 in a report by the Plan Commission1 and continuous engineering improvements have been made in furtherance of this role.
Its role as other things to other interested parties has been reinforced over time, too. Residents living in the backyard of the Downtown Loop have every right to interact with their public investment as a commuter, but not everyone is a commuter. While it remains to be seen whether the problems charged to running urban freeways through existing walkable neighborhoods can be engineered out of existence, attempts to wield walkability as a asset for economic development in the corridor will only hasten the day this alleged conflict comes to blows. For now, the North Loop will continue in both its intended role of controlling car access onto it and in its unintended role of controlling non-car access through it–from Quality Hill on one side to River Market on the other, then to Columbus Park and back again to the East Village and Paseo West–the degree of pedestrian permeability between neighborhoods remains constant despite any improvements made within them.
A visit to the site approximately bound by 4th and Walnut in the northwest, I-35/70 at Walnut in the southwest, I-35/70 at Cherry in the southeast, and 4th and Cherry in the northeast corners lends to this between/within disparity. The barrier provided by the North Loop interchange with MO State Highway 9 is psychological as well as it is physical; if not located at near-hairpin corners where the opposite side of the street is a retaining wall, it would seem neither the 531 Grand Apartments and Bridgeworks Lofts developments located at Independence & Oak and Missouri & Locust, nor their angled tenant street parking, would have been possible. If not already inside a surviving legacy block morphology–that is to say a block not demolished following the highway earthworks, the development opportunities of parcels abutting the highway in the aforementioned site boundaries have so far presented themselves as (dog) park, parking, and empty lot.
View looking south from atop the grade of MO-9’s interchange with the North Loop near the Bridgeworks Lofts at Missouri Ave and Locust Ln. The partially obscured 531 Grand Apartments can be seen at the far right. Immediately to the left, the highway routing sign indicates the point at which the southbound MO-9 offramp, whose grading forms the hard eastern boundary between River Market and Columbus Park, forks into the North Loop’s westbound lanes to the right and the eastbound lanes to the left.
Looking south from the south side of the corner of Missouri Ave and Locust Ln near the northeast corner of the parcel on which KCFD Station 25 sits. The chainlink fence delineates the property line between the fire station and the public highway right of way. Beyond the fence is the wayfinding sign indicating the position of the same fork from the previous photo.
Looking east-southeast and down into the westbound lane of Exit 2F onto Independence and Grand from near the corner of Independence and Oak. This exit has maintained this alignment since its construction in the late 1950s.
East-northeast view of the North Loop with east & westbound traffic from the east side of the Grand Blvd bridge between Independence Ave & E 6th St. The flyover connecting southbound traffic exiting MO-9 feeds into westbound North Loop traffic under this bridge. Urban forests must be cut down to size to maintain lines of sight for highway ingress and egress.
Northwest view from E 6th St between Superior and Page Sts of I-70 including eastbound traffic and a car utilizing exit 2E to turn off onto the intersection with 6th and Page. The 531 Grand Apartments and Harry’s Country Club are in the background.
Northwest view of the 531 Grand apartments from where Exit 2E funnels eastbound traffic into the intersection at E 6th and Page Sts. The impermeable slab concrete island maintains the necessary clear line of sight between 6th itself and the merge onto 6th, pictured in the foreground. Behind this offramp is an urban forest where lines of sight can be reasonably sacrificed.
North-northwest view, on the south side of E 6th St between Page and Cherry Sts., looking toward the interchange between I-70 and MO-9. The southbound traffic of the latter leads into the foreground from the distance after having crossed the Heart of America Bridge to terminate at Admiral and Locust (not pictured), but not before consecutively passing over the interstate and then E 6th St. In the foreground, 6th passes under MO-9. Immediately due north, both the stacks of the Vicinity Energy plant and the “spire” of the Cold Storage Lofts can be seen rising in the background from obscurity behind the Bridgeworks Lofts and, for their height, may be used as informal points of reference for wayfinding.
View looking north where Cherry St meets Missouri Ave. The northbound approach toward the Heart of America Bridge encloses the viewshed up Cherry on the left but creates a hard border between Columbus Park to the east and River Market to the west.
View looking south from Cherry St and E Missouri Ave toward a northbound flyover ramp entrance to the Heart of America Bridge. This ramp commences where eastbound Exit 2E traffic merges with that on E 6th St to furnish access for both to MO-9.
1Kansas City Plan Commission. (1951). Expressways: greater Kansas City: an engineering report/prepared by City Plan Commission, Kansas City, Missouri; for the Missouri State Highway Department; and the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Public Roads. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uiug.30112118728002 on April 3, 2025.
