SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Kansas Expressway Project has been in the works for more than 30 years now and is finally starting to see an ending.
The project was announced in the 1980s, but construction didn’t start until 2021.
The project is called the Kansas Expressway Extension, but it won’t exactly be an expressway yet. At first, it will be only two lanes, then later it will become four. The second phase of this project is expected to open next year.
Business owners near Kansas Expressway and Republic Road are looking forward to this new road being open, but some neighbors who live nearby have some mixed feelings.
“The early nineties that we’re talking about it,” said Chef Tiny the owner of Retro Metro on Republic Road. “So, you know, just wondered when it was ever going to come to fruition and finally it did.”
Chef Tiny said he hopes the road will be good for traffic and his business.
“I think as a business owner, it’s going to be great. We’re going to do a lot more traffic in this area,” said Tiny. “Kansas Expressway is going to be able to go all the way down to Plainview. So that’s really exciting.”