After year of construction, Amidon bridge set to reopen. Here’s when you can drive it

After a year of construction and lengthy detours, north Wichita commuters got their first chance to drive over the new Amidon Avenue Bridge on Wednesday.

The city hosted a ribbon-cutting event to commemorate the reopening of the bridge, which spans the Arkansas River and connects 13th and 21st streets.

The four-lane bridge reopened two months ahead of schedule after 12 months of construction. A city spokesperson told The Eagle last month that the project remained within its $7.5 million budget.

Since replacement of the 60-year-old bridge began last October, traffic had been rerouted along detours to West Street, Waco and Broadway, adding between four and eight minutes to the average commute.

The newly opened bridge will connect residents just south of the bridge with the busy 21st and Amidon intersection, which features several grocery stores and pharmacies, a DMV office, a fire station, a workforce center, two health care facilities and more than a dozen restaurants.

This story was originally published October 31, 2023 at 12:38 PM.