Bruce R. Watkins Drive Is Smoother Months Ahead of Schedule
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Bruce R. Watkins Drive (Route 71) in south Kansas City is smoother, thanks to a $900,000 pavement repair and resurfacing project completed three months ahead of schedule.
MoDOT's contractor, Superior Bowen Inc., completed work in mid-July on this 2.6-mile stretch after more than a month of nightly pavement repairs followed by pavement resurfacing. The work was done at night so that very few of the 60,000 motorists who use Bruce R. Watkins each day were delayed on their way to and from their destinations.
The new pavement surface is an ultra-thin bonded asphalt wearing surface that is less than an inch thick, yet durable enough to provide a smooth ride for many years. As part of the project, workers also eliminated pavement dips at the approaches to the Blue River bridges near 85th Street.
The newly-resurfaced segment of Bruce R. Watkins Drive was built in 1990, the first portion of the new Route 71 that connects 3-Trails Crossing with the Downtown Loop.
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