Fatal U.S. 71 crash piques interest in what's next on redesigning a safer road
After a tragic multi-vehicle accident on U.S. 71 Highway in Kansas City on Monday, which left three people dead and several other people injured, interest has spiked in what’s next for the north/south thoroughfare that includes some of the most dangerous stretches of roadway in the city. For nearly two years, Kansas City has studied the road, also known as Bruce R. Watkins Drive, named for a former city councilman, and promised a reconstruction to repair problems created on the city’s East Side when U.S. 71 was built — including a Black community torn apart, environmental and noise pollution, and a serious traffic safety hazard. The reconstruction project, which city officials dubbed Reconnecting the East Side, proposes to turn the six-lane highway into a parkway at the request of Kansas City residents who attended a series of public listening and input sessions earlier this year. Out of several possible reconfiguration of the highway, residents were most drawn to a parkway design. Now, city officials say, they are finalizing a Planning and Environment Linkage study promised to be ready for public viewing this fall. This comprehensive study pulls together all aspects of the project and explains why a reconstruction is needed,
