PARSONS — A railroad bridge just north of Parsons on U.S. 59 will be replaced starting this month.
The work is slated to begin the week of Feb. 23 to replace the 285-foot bridge that spans the Union Pacific Railroad tracks, according to the Kansas Department of Transportation
A 40-mile signed detour will be in place later that week.
THE OFFICIAL detour will take northbound U.S. 59 traffic west on U.S. 400 to U.S. 169, then north on 169 and east on K-47 to reconnect with U.S. 59. The inverse route will take motorists in the opposite direction.
The project is slated to be completed by the summer of 2027, conditions permitting.
The new three-span bridge will be 413 feet long, with 12-foot driving lanes and 10-foot shoulders.
The existing bridge was built in 1937, widened in 1968 and repaired in 1990.
THE BRIDGE is being replaced because it has reached the end of its useful life, according to a KDOT press release.
KDOT awarded the $7.9 million construction contract to Bridges Inc., of Newton.
The project is funded through KDOT’s 10-year Eisenhower Legacy Transportation Program, also called IKE.
