KCRag Forum

Anyone know what happened to the installation of panels on the bridges over I-670?  Looks like they stopped about six months ago and just abandoned the project.

dangerboy wrote: Anyone know what happened to the installation of panels on the bridges over I-670?  Looks like they stopped about six months ago and just abandoned the project.

I am pretty sure that the post-wyandotte bridges were only intended to have the limited amount of panels that you see today. 

LenexatoKCMO wrote: I am pretty sure that the post-wyandotte bridges were only intended to have the limited amount of panels that you see today. 

So it's "complete" ?  The final design is essentially chain link with a few random panels?  Wow.

Yeah I was a little dissapointed when I figured out that was the final product.  Though it is perhaps a bit more wild, I like the first design on Wyandotte much better - both from an artistic and functional perspective. 

yes, half-assed and disappointing. sometimes they move the panels, but the number stays the same.

Wow, this is news to me. I thought it was just taking an inexplicably long time to get finished. Was this by design or did they just figure out they could only afford 1/3 of the panels?

staubio wrote: Wow, this is news to me. I thought it was just taking an inexplicably long time to get finished. Was this by design or did they just figure out they could only afford 1/3 of the panels?

Pretty sure it was by design.  I figured it out quite a few months ago when I realized that the bridge sides are only desinged to fit the little stretches of the rails/frames that hold the panels in place.  If you walk over it and pay attention to the construction it is pretty obvious this is how it was built. 

It looked better without the tall fence.

I chimed in on this awhile ago..YEP..I think the Bridge Art is a huge waste of money ..concept for bridge art is good, execution and again the amount I think in the $700k range we got shafted...Woodfill (artist) Eldorado ( Architects ) are for the most part way better than this.. The biggest complaint I have toward architects designing sculpture are the city entrance markers @ river market and north of the downtown airport..these never work and are extremely lame. (concrete columns with LEDs).

I don't have an opinion either way on the art itself.  My problem with it is that the goal was supposed to be to shield the pedestrian from highway below and make the walk across the bridge a little more pleasant. Chain link fence and some randomly-placed panels does not do this.

This artwork needed to be both attractive and functional.  It totally fails at the functional part.

dangerboy wrote: This artwork needed to be both attractive and functional.  It totally fails at the functional part.

I won't defend or attack the bridge art, but can say without a doubt that you've mentioned a balance that can be extremely tricky to achieve. Those panels do have to be functional from a city/state/DOT perspective, and I'm willing to bet that the bureaucrats were made very happy by the design of the panel system, meaning that - at least on paper - it keeps cars & pedestrians from plummeting onto the freeway. BNIM & similar companies require just under $200k per bridge to put up the bare-bones minimum chain link system that can be seen on many of the downtown overpasses. I do not know for a fact, but I'm guessing that the Eldo/Woodfill system that's being discussed was an 'all in' project for $700k, needing to satisfy the mentioned DOT requirements AND be aesthetically pleasing without breaking the budget. It's far from a dream job. Satisfying the safety requirements likely sucked up 90% of the budget.

drumatix wrote: I won't defend or attack the bridge art, but can say without a doubt that you've mentioned a balance that can be extremely tricky to achieve. Those panels do have to be functional from a city/state/DOT perspective

I think the panels are fine from an aesthetic perspective.  The problem is that they only put 3-4 panels per bridge.  The original renderings and description seemed to suggest that the panels would run the length of the bridge, creating a continuous wall of art. 

dangerboy wrote: creating a continuous wall of art. 

Like what was put on the first bridge - Wyandotte.  You can walk over that thing and really be fairly oblivious to the interstate below thanks to the continuous art.  Unfortunately the bridge with the best execution, is probably the least likely to see foot traffic. 

I figured they didn't fill it completely with panels since so the highway signs would block those portions from view, so they were saving money not additional additional panels?

LenexatoKCMO wrote: Like what was put on the first bridge - Wyandotte.  You can walk over that thing and really be fairly oblivious to the interstate below thanks to the continuous art. 

And that benefit was touted as being the primary reason for the replicating the idea on the other bridges.

Although the Wyandotte bridge is significantly higher than the other bridges, so the highway was always a little less ominous there.

elextendo wrote: The biggest complaint I have toward architects designing sculpture are the city entrance markers @ river market and north of the downtown airport..these never work and are extremely lame. (concrete columns with LEDs).

The Watchdog strikes again!

http://www.kansascity.com/115/story/1036318.html

This is a different bridge and a totally different art project...

dangerboy wrote: This is a different bridge and a totally different art project...

I know, I was refering to Stretch's tangental comment earlier in the discussion.

Thanks..I bet its  at least another 6 months.. they( both locations) dont work correctly..