North Wichita bridge is closing soon for construction. Here’s what you need to know

The staggered closure of a major Wichita bridge will begin in September and last until at least December 2023.

The Amidon Avenue Bridge, which has spanned the Arkansas riverbend at 18th Street North for nearly 60 years, is slated for replacement.

Northbound Amidon will close for utility work starting Sept. 19 ahead of a full bridge closure beginning the first week of October, the city announced Tuesday. Construction will last at least 14 months.

An average of 16,500 vehicles travel over the aging four-lane bridge every day, city data shows. During construction, through traffic will be detoured to West Street at 21st and 13th Streets.

The Wichita City Council originally approved funding of the new design in January 2021 but heard considerable concerns from community members about how a prolonged bridge closure would affect fire department response times and neighborhood access to key services across the river.

The busy north Wichita intersection at 21st and Amidon is home to several grocery stores, four pharmacies, a DMV office, a fire station, a workforce center, two health care facilities and more than a dozen restaurants.

After a second round of community input where city engineers explained how keeping one or two lanes of traffic open during construction would affect the project cost and timeline, the council chose to move forward with its current plan for a full closure.

A temporary fire station near 13th Street and West Street will be set up to help with response times to the residential neighborhoods south of the bridge.

The city is hosting an informational meeting about the bridge closure at 6 p.m. on Sept. 7 at the Wichita Workforce Center, 2021 N. Amidon, #1100 in the New Leaf Plaza.

This story was originally published August 30, 2022 at 12:58 PM.