Built in the 1960s, the original design of the Turner Diagonal Interchange accommodated tolls. However, tollbooths were never installed; leaving over three miles of obsolete and hazardous ramps and cutting off access to land eyed for future development. The Kansas Department of Transportation got to work on a $30.3 million effort that improved safety, increased development and job opportunities, provided access to public transit, reduced maintenance costs, and reduced congestion. Kansas DOT worked with partners in Kansas City to re-design the interchange so that it increased access to nearby businesses and created a new path and better connections to the already existing sidewalk network that connects to Bus Rapid Transit. The new Turner Diagonal Interchange delivered immediate economic benefits, bringing thousands of new jobs the area, with more to come from a soon-to-be-completed industrial park.
America's Transportation Awards 