Highway bridge in Fairway

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DaveKCMO
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Re: Highway bridge in Fairway

Post by DaveKCMO »

we must have just missed you! we were down there today taking pics, too. once you see the site yourself, it really does seem ridiculous what they are proposing. i think they'll win.
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Re: Highway bridge in Fairway

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DaveKCMO wrote: we must have just missed you! we were down there today taking pics, too. once you see the site yourself, it really does seem ridiculous what they are proposing. i think they'll win.
Who do you think will win?  I thought the project was pretty late in the planning stages already.

I took these on Friday on my way home from work.  My vehicle is on the right in the bottom one.  :)
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Re: Highway bridge in Fairway

Post by DaveKCMO »

Kard wrote: Who do you think will win?  I thought the project was pretty late in the planning stages already.

I took these on Friday on my way home from work.  My vehicle is on the right in the bottom one.  :)
i think the homeowners will win, unless there's something bigger going on with the rock creek stormwater thing upstream. public awareness of eminent domain is so high right now, i can't imagine these people getting enough hush money to give up. at a minimum, it'll be tied up in court for awhile.
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Re: Highway bridge in Fairway

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Where do they get the word "highway" from? There are no damn highways in Fairway as far as I know, but that's what they're saying on these signs.
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Re: Highway bridge in Fairway

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Is this currently a Culvert, box bridge or a standard bridge? To me it doesn't look like anything needs to be done.
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Re: Highway bridge in Fairway

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anniewarbucks wrote: Is this currently a Culvert, box bridge or a standard bridge? To me it doesn't look like anything needs to be done.
i think it's a "box bridge", if you mean a concrete box with the road resting atop it. the rails are wooden with a copper cladding along the top.
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Re: Highway bridge in Fairway

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We have heard that a picture is worth a thousand words. well the two pictures posted on this thread must be worth 2000. I can not fill all 2000 but I will try. This bridge or should I say box bridge. has no problems. The problem that I see is the overgroath of trees in this creek. I live near a stormwater creek and there has been so much timber washed down this channel that the collector culvert (Culvert and 2 modified rail tankers) is plugged up. instead of replacing the bridge they should cut the vegitation and cleen out the box bridge. The water will flow more freely and not flood. as I said I did not get my 2000 words.
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Re: Highway bridge in Fairway

Post by kard »

I wrote the City of Fairway a letter.  If you want to, their address is:

City of Fairway
5252 Belinder
Fairway, KS  66205
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Re: Highway bridge in Fairway

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anniewarbucks wrote: This bridge or should I say box bridge. has no problems. The problem that I see is the overgroath of trees in this creek. I live near a stormwater creek and there has been so much timber washed down this channel that the collector culvert (Culvert and 2 modified rail tankers) is plugged up. instead of replacing the bridge they should cut the vegitation and cleen out the box bridge. The water will flow more freely and not flood.
Do you live near this bridge? I do. I walk over it and the one upstream all the time, and I've never seen whole trees under them, even after heavy rains. Even the amount of brush in the creek is pretty light.

From what I've read, the flooding issue is exacerbated by decades of development that's reduced permeable surfaces. So instead of soaking into the ground, more water winds up in the creek.
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Re: Highway bridge in Fairway

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why not increase the permeable surfaces in the area? have the residents proposed this alternative? gravel driveways, green rooftops, tearing up surface lots, rain gardens, etc.
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Re: Highway bridge in Fairway

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DaveKCMO wrote: why not increase the permeable surfaces in the area? have the residents proposed this alternative? gravel driveways, green rooftops, tearing up surface lots, rain gardens, etc.
That's being considered, at least in Mission. For example, the proposed Johnson Drive make-over would include replacing Mission Bank's Johnson Drive-side parking lot with green space that sits atop an underground garage. But that's expensive, and I've got to wonder where the money would come from.

There are also a couple of acres of surface lots between Wendy's and Mission Bowl that are never anywhere near half-full, let alone full. Those lots are right next to the creek, so replacing at least part of them with green space probably would help run-off somewhat. However, if the Gateway project is successful, then that stretch of land probably will become too valuable for developers and the city to leave as green space. Taking away the flooding risk also makes that site more desirable.
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Re: Highway bridge in Fairway

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Fairway's weekly e-newsletter published today and focuses on the bridge. Here's the text:


There have been many comments and questions about the Mission Road Bridge project. Hopefully, the facts below will help clarify this issue for those residents of and visitors to our community who have questions. Please review this information and contact your council members or me if you have questions or thoughts. We understand the concerns about the size of the bridge by those who live in closest proximity to the bridge and by other interested citizens.

As the elected officials of your community, we must, based upon the best professional advice we can obtain, do what is best for the greatest majority of our citizens. We are not oblivious to those concerns, but we have been elected to make well informed decisions about how to best serve the interests of the entire community. We are regretful that, in doing so we cannot please everyone no matter what the ultimate details of the design may end up being. The bridge dimensions are dictated to us by the commonly accepted engineering standards, and the current design meets those criteria.

A Highway Bridge???   
City Has No Plans for a Highway Bridge

The sign says..."No Highway Bridge in Fairway". And just like the sign says, there will be no highway bridge in our City. The Mission Road bridge was built in 1950. It is deteriorating, and it is past its useful life. It will not last much longer. We need to replace the bridge, and we will replace it with a bridge that is safe for passing motorists and addresses our storm water problems at the site. We will build a bridge, but it will not be a highway bridge. We will continue to seek citizen comments on aesthetic features of the bridge such as stone work, bridge railings, bridge lighting, and natural streamway stabilization materials. The project will include extensive landscaping to also beautify the area. While we will lose a few trees of value in the construction process, we will more than replace what is lost to enhance the area and maintain the character of the neighborhood.


Safety Is Our Main Concern   
Bridge Issues Need to be Addressed

The Mission Road Bridge is not only old and deteriorating but it is a public safety issue as the water overtops the bridge by as much as four feet in the 1% storm event. In addition, repeated flooding has caused the footings of the bridge to be undercut and has created scour holes. Finally, the existing railings and approach guard fence do not meet current standards either. The 1998 Bridge Inventory study classified the bridge as functionally obsolete.


Industry Standards and Guidelines   
City Is Required to Meet Minimum Standards

The bridge must meet the minimum engineering standards in effect today. These standards had not been developed when the current bridge was built over 55 years ago. It is those minimum engineering requirements that dictate the dimensions of the bridge. In general, engineers must design to the 1% standard. What is the 1% standard? The 1% standard essentially means that any system constructed must convey the peak discharge generated by the 1% storm. This was formerly called the 100 year storm, but this term is now used because it is a storm that has a 1% chance of occurring on every single day of the year. That doesn't mean it will, but it could. The City's storm water engineers have concluded that the current planned bridge dimension meets the minimum engineering standards. This conclusion has been confirmed by a peer review performed by another engineering firm. In addition, the width of the bridge will not change and neither will the number of traffic lanes.


Peer Review Confirms Original Findings   
Second Opinion is Gathered

In light of public comments and questions, the City obtained a second opinion, or peer review, on the engineering aspects of the Shafer Kline Warren (SKW) plan. The selected engineering firm reviewed the work of SKW, and the peer review found the following:

"The need for the improvements has been clearly demonstrated. In fact, given the severe hydraulic insufficiency of the existing bridge, the loss of life assoicated with that insufficiency, and the continued risk its frequent overtopping poses to public safety, it's replacement is long overdue."
"With respect to the appropriateness of the selected replacement bridge and the adjacent roadway improvements from the perspectives of hydraulic performance and geometric layout, it is equally clear that they were designed in accordance with the applicable codes and that they are optimized rather than execessive."
"We believe therefore that the solution proposed by the design consultant as reviewed and endorsed by the Johnson County Public Works Department and the Kansas Department of Transportation Bureau of Local Projects is a good one and should be implemented."
James V. Gagne III, PE and Francis (Chip) Corcoran, PE of Olsson Associates.

A copy of the peer review may be obtained at City Hall and ultimately on the storm water web site.


Outside Funding Does Not Dictate Bridge Dimensions   
Federal and County Funding reduces impact to Fairway taxpayers

The City has been extremely successful in attracting federal and county funding to help pay for the cost of the bridge project. This cost sharing dramatically reduces the cost to Fairway taxpayers. The outside funding does not dictate the dimensions of the bridge. Instead, it substantially reduces the burden to the Fairway taxpayer. The bridge must be replaced and the replacement bridge must be built to prevailing standards. Standards that have been adopted throughout the Kansas City Metropolitan Area and, in deed, nationally. It is this standard that dictates the bridge's design. The bridge must be designed to meet the minimum engineering requirements as described above, regardless of the funding source.


Legal Liability is a Concern   
Given that the bridge must be replaced, the City and its citizens could well be liable for property damage and injury to persons, should any occur, if the bridge is not designed and constructed to these standards. Just good sense should tell us that any city in this situation would design a structure like a bridge to meet the prevailing standards of the day. Failure to meet this standard would be to ignore its responsibilities to its citizens and to all persons traveling, by any mode of transportation, in that area. Importantly, knowingly not designing the bridge to prevailing standards could open the City up to litigation potentially resulting in substantial damages.


Mission Hills Bridge Example   
MH is also following 1% standard

There has been some discussion in the community that the City of Mission Hills is able to avoid the 1% standard with the bridge they are rebuilding at Tomahawk and Mission Road. Mission Hills is receiving County CARS funding for the bridge in addition to Mission Hills and Prairie Village using their own general revenues. The mistaken reasoning says that because Mission Hills did not accept federal funds, it can avoid the 1% standard. This is not true. The existing bridge at that location easily conveys the 1% storm. Though, like our Mission Road bridge, that bridge has also outlived its useful life and now must be replaced. Concerns about the replacement meeting the prevailing standards are not at issue, given the height of the existing bridge above the creek. It currently will and will continue, after its replacement, to convey the 1% storm and will thus meet the 1% standard. Again, the funding source is not the determining factor. The determining factor is the minimum engineering standards.


Display   
Change is not nearly as severe as display

A display along Mission Road has been erected to attempt to convey the view of the expected changes in size of the bridge. While this display gains attention, it is inaccurate in many aspects including the overall projected length of the bridge. I would encourage any of you to view the preliminary engineering plans for yourself or contact your council member.
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Re: Highway bridge in Fairway

Post by Tosspot »

Sounds like another case of the overly-specializing engineers dictating terms and conditions. Just off hand, anyway.
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Re: Highway bridge in Fairway

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they do have a point about litigation, and you can blame our society for that. regardless, i think the water height issue could be seriously mitigated by upstream/downstream changes. mission needs to get smart and attack the root cause instead of continually treating the symptom.
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Re: Highway bridge in Fairway

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If Mission's creek project is succesful in reducing flooding in that city, does that mean that downstream there will be more water and a faster flow? In other words, if the creek no longer can flood into places such as Mission Mall, it has to go somewhere, and that somewhere is Fairway. Or am I misunderstanding the effects that these types of projects have?
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Re: Highway bridge in Fairway

Post by jimb »

There is a lot of work in restoring more of the natural creekbed of Rock Creek as a of Mission's downtown redevelopment.  That's why they are required to tear down so many buildings.  From what I've read, besides controlling the flooding problem in Mission itself, these changes should help with the downstram issues as well.
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Re: Highway bridge in Fairway

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I don't see the issue...the road floods, why not make it passable?  People will compain if the bridge goes in or if the old one starts looking bad...how is the state supposed to "win"?
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Re: Highway bridge in Fairway

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KCPowercat wrote: I don't see the issue...the road floods, why not make it passable?  People will compain if the bridge goes in or if the old one starts looking bad...how is the state supposed to "win"?
Many people wonder why it takes a bridge as large as they are proposing to do the job.
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Re: Highway bridge in Fairway

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The uproar over the bridge is partly the result of the widely held perception that the city council and mayor mishandled the city hall project. A lot of residents were pissed about the original proposal to build the new city hall on part of the Indian Mission site -- not just becaue of the location but also because of what they saw as the mayor's attempt to lay the groundwork without public input. Then they got even more pissed when the city started considering other sites, such as the Mission Road-SMP location and several residential sites. Now they feel that the bridge project is being done behind their backs.
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Re: Highway bridge in Fairway

Post by kard »

The city has a website for this project:  http://www.fairwaystormwater.com/projects/Mission.asp

The time line is posted as well.  Looks like Property Acquisition is beginning.  I wonder if all five home owners will sell.


Mission Road Bridge Project
RC-03-020   
May-August 2006: 
Final Design

August-November 2006:
Property Acquisition

September 2006-March 2007:
KDOT Review

March-April 2007: 
Bidding and Contract Signing

May 2007:
Construction Begins

November 2007:
Construction complete
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