Rock Island Bridge will spur waterfront activity on the Kaw, developers say

Yahoo

17-05-2025

A long-awaited entertainment center that will sit 40 feet over the Kaw on a former railroad line should finally come to fruition this fall.
Mike Zeller, chief executive officer of Flying Truss and the mastermind behind the Rock Island Bridge, told The Star last week that his multi-purpose, two-level project will be open to the public once it wraps up ongoing construction on the bridge and after the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, complete accessible ramps and stairs to get people to the bridge.
Zeller and government officials have pitched the project, which has seen a few delays since its initially promised 2023 completion, as an entertainment venue with seating for shows, a bar and restaurant, restrooms and a connection between Missouri's West Bottoms and Kansas City, Kansas.
As the project has progressed, its partners have seen the bridge as an opportunity to open the slower-moving waters of the Kansas River up for recreational use.
'What began as an infrastructure renewal project has grown into a broader, river-activation effort that new city signage calls the Kansas Waterfront,' Zeller wrote in an email to The Star.
'With water speeds at just about one-third of the Missouri River's, the Kansas, or Kaw, as it's known locally, is ideal for paddle craft.'
The project surpassed a few key hurdles recently. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers last month finished raising levees as part of a 13-mile-long levee-raising initiative, Zeller said.
The Unified Government has conducted site work and construction to widen the levee to create a nearby overlook park adjacent to the bridge. The government will next extend Wyandotte County area trailheads to lead to the bridge and work on the ramp and staircase access, Zeller said. The Unified Government expects the ramps and staircase work to be completed in September.
Wyandotte County's economic development committee last month signed off on extending its development agreement for the project through March 2026.
Ahead of the unanimous vote, commissioners Bill Burns and Tom Burroughs expressed their support for the project.
Burns, who represents District 2 and the Armourdale neighborhood, said he's been out to the site and thinks it will be a safe and fantastic addition to the community.
'It'll be a great thing to have that's not in western Wyandotte County, it'll be down here,' Burns said at the time.
Burroughs, the at-large District 2 commissioner, said the project will set the county's eastern side up for more economic development opportunities.
'The eastern part of our community has been crying out for economic development,' he said.
Zip KC, a recreational zip line company based in Bonner Springs, told The Star that when it heard about Zeller's project, it wanted to bring other assets to the area that would complement the project and bring energy to the waterway.
That's why owners Dan Scott and Brad McDonald purchased two former ferry boats from Galveston, Texas, that they plan to dock near the bridge. Scott told The Star last week that he and McDonald envision a floating bar and lounge where people can sit and sip on a warm afternoon or host private events.
The two are still drafting a development agreement that they plan to bring to the Unified Government later this year. In the meantime, the riverboats are dry-docked at an area recycling yard.
McDonald and Scott also want to rent out paddle boards, kayaks and other slower-moving craft for people to take out on the water.
'We really want to help be an anchor for that type of activity,' Scott said.
And although they're still working to bring their end of the project to reality, Scott said he and McDonald are 'really excited to see Mike be able to pull this bridge off.'