The Zoo Boulevard bridge in Wichita, Kansas, stretches 547 feet across the MS Mitch Mitchell Floodway—a manmade channel built to protect downtown Wichita from flooding on the Arkansas River. As one of the few floodway crossings on the City’s west side, it carries more than 33,000 vehicles daily.

At 50 years old, the bridge was showing its age. Failing expansion joints had caused damage beneath the structure, creating noise for drivers, and posing safety risks from potentially dislodged joint components.

Though within City limits, the bridge is owned by Sedgwick County which contracted with us to design repairs to extend the bridge’s lifespan. Initial plans included joint replacement and deck resurfacing. However, during the design phase, we proposed replacing the joints with semi-integral abutments—uncommon in Kansas—which allow deck movement without the need for expansion joints. While requiring significant retrofit work, this change eliminated future costly maintenance related to expansion joints.

The Sedgwick County Zoo sits near the bridge. Representatives from all applicable agencies regularly collaborated to ensure the zoo’s operations remained unaffected during construction.

A heavily used bike/pedestrian path under the bridge stayed open throughout construction, with short-term closures during overhead work. Traffic flow was carefully managed as well. A temporary stop sign was installed at a tight merge point. To prevent backups on nearby Interstate 235, at least two westbound turn lanes remained open at all times to accommodate the high volume of traffic exiting the interstate.

Now complete, the upgraded bridge is ready to serve the city’s growing population for years to come.