North Kansas Avenue Bridge

Bridge in Downtown Topeka, Kansas

North Kansas Avenue Bridge

Coordinates| 39°03′44″N 95°40′06″W﻿ / ﻿39.0623°N 95.6682°W﻿ / 39.0623; -95.6682
Carries| Pedestrians, motor vehicles
Crosses| Kansas River
Locale| Downtown Topeka, Kansas
Characteristics
Design| Unknown
No. of lanes| 4
History
Construction start| 1965
Construction end| 1967
Location

The North Kansas Avenue Bridge is a four lane, automobile and pedestrian crossing of the Kansas River at Topeka, Kansas, U.S. The bridge connects downtown Topeka to North Topeka. It is open to traffic.

The North Kansas Avenue Bridge opened in 1967. It replaced the Melan Arch Bridge, which had collapsed two years prior on July 2, 1965, killing one motorist.[1][2] The Melan Arch Bridge opened in 1898 and was the only bridge to North Topeka until 1938.[1][3]

Unlike the Melan Arch Bridge, the North Topeka side of the North Kansas Avenue Bridge does not connect directly with Kansas Avenue; it instead leads to N.E. Quincy St. This caused traffic to bypass the North Topeka business district on Kansas Avenue, which local merchants claim led to the decline of the business district.[1][4] A fly-off ramp known as the "Curtis Flyoff" was built in 2004 to connect the bridge to the Kansas Avenue business district and Great Overland Station.[5]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Hooper, Michael (August 5, 2007). "1965 Flashback: Melan Arch Bridge tumbles". The Topeka Capital-Journal. Archived from the original on December 11, 2013. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
2. ^ "Man Is Killed in Topeka As Downtown Bridge Falls" (PDF). The New York Times. United Press International. July 3, 1965. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
3. ^ "Topeka Boulevard bridge — Over 70 years of history". The Topeka Capital-Journal. July 27, 2008. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
4. ^ "North Topeka - Going uptown". The Topeka Capital-Journal. May 19, 2006. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
5. ^ Henrikson, Alicia (May 19, 2006). "Negotiations continue for fly-off buyout". The Topeka Capital-Journal. Archived from the original on May 14, 2004. Retrieved February 8, 2013.

Crossings of the Kansas River

| Upstream
Topeka Boulevard Bridge
| North Kansas Avenue Bridge
| Downstream
Unknown Railroad Bridge, then the Sardou Bridge

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