Скачать или смотреть Postcard: 12th Street Viaduct linked downtown KC to the West Bottoms below it

Explore the history of the 12th Street Viaduct, a double-decked concrete structure that connects downtown KC to the West Bottoms.

By the late 1800s Kansas City faced a serious transportation issue.

The steep bluffs between downtown (which was spreading south from the river) and the West Bottoms, where the train station stockyards and other industries were located, presented a very vertical obstacle.

To solve it, a pair of “Inclines” were built on 9th and 12th Streets—engineering marvels that might pass for amusement park rides today. Later, a streetcar line running up to the bluffs and through a tunnel at 8th Street also served the cause.

Finally, in 1915, the 12th Street Trafficway Viaduct arrived to save the day. (A viaduct differs from a bridge in that it doesn’t necessarily cross over water to connect two places.)

This one was a beauty, designed by KC’s own Waddell & Harrington. At its highest point, the double decker towered 118 feet over the railroad tracks below. To accommodate horse-drawn traffic, the lower deck offered a gentler grade of just 2.5%.

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