Blue River Road’s past and present: Truman’s romance with a road now in disrepair

By Diane Euston

Those who have resided in south Kansas City for decades can likely recall a time when they opted to travel down Blue River Road in lieu of more convenient or faster options. Maybe others even considered it a shortcut when traffic would pile up on neighboring highways at rush hour.

I personally have fond memories of Blue River Road from my childhood. When I was about five years old, my parents joined Hillcrest Country Club. My two cousins, Karen and Mary, were along for the ride to the club.

Although completely impractical for a late 30-something year-old father, my dad drove a maroon Nissan 300-ZX with removable T-tops. It was a two-seater sports car, but that didn’t stop three little girls from packing in the trunk (it was the 80s!) side-by-side, laying on our backs and gazing up through the hatchback.

“Dad, can we take the long way home?” I begged from the confines of the tiny trunk.

He rarely said no. The “long way” was a code word meaning that I wanted to take the winding, beautiful drive down Blue River Road to Red Bridge Road. We’d hug the curves of the road, reminding my dad multiple times to honk when we got underneath the covered tunnel. The sports car would swerve back into suburbia and into our driveway with three giggling, unrestrained girls intact.

Blue River Road was built as a scenic route, to be sure. But more importantly, when it was constructed in the late 1920s, its role was truly to link southern Jackson County – still not a part of Kansas City – to the city.

As plans today stall over the future of this once scenic roadway, a trip back in time on why the road was built and the advancement of the road system in South Kansas City is worth further examination.

Building an Early Highway System

Before Blue River Road was constructed, there was no true highway system yet. In 1927, the city limits stretched to 77th Street, and Martin City was still its own unique community.
Blue River was part of a larger $6.5 million dollar road bond program initiated by Jackson County. The automobile had grown immensely popular, and the need for a better system of roads was paramount.

To be clear, in the late 1920s, there weren’t many roads in what we now consider south Kansas City. There wasn’t even a State Line Road past about 103rd Street. There certainly was no I-435 or I-35 for speedy travel.

In 1927, the county proposed two new projects that would be “principal links” to all areas of the city. Blue River Road along with the Blue Ridge Boulevard Extension would connect the previously built four state highways to the outermost edges of the county.

The state highway system, brand new in the 1920s, was numbered in an interesting way. The county court, led by then-judge Harry S. Truman, selected a “zero point.” That zero point fell at Linwood Boulevard and The Paseo. Each north and south highway was given the name of how many miles it was distant from the zero point.

Thus, 24 Highway was 24 miles east of the zero point of Linwood and Paseo.

Nathan Thomas “Tom” Veatch (1886-1975) served as commission of engineers that supervised construction of the Jackson County roads when Truman was presiding judge of the court. His company, Black & Veatch, started in 1915 with 12 employees.

Veatch recalled in a 1961 interview with the Truman Library how the system of numbering worked. “6N would be six miles north of Linwood Boulevard and 6E would be six miles east of Paseo,” he recalled. “The numbering system we developed is still [in 1961] in existence.”

In addition to connecting more desolate places in Jackson County to the state highway system, the bond project was also responsible for paving 87th Street, 71st Street (Gregory), and Red Bridge Road from Holmes. These were previously dirt.

These projects, the Kansas City Star reported in 1928, “will facilitate the growth of those outlying sections that invite a wholesome spread of development and will serve the entire city-county population.”

How roads were going to be kept up and maintained was still a big question. The Kansas City Times reported that while serving in World War I in France, “Judge Truman studied the French road system and investigated particularly the old Roman roads. . . The French system of having a maintenance corps of road workers regularly employed is economical, Truman believes.”

This conversation about road maintenance is still a hot button today, but in 1930 when the newspaper reported Truman’s thoughts on it, ongoing maintenance of concrete roads was a real question mark. Truman saw in France that “the maintenance workers detect holes and repair them at an early state and the roads are never permitted to run down.”

I truly wonder what Truman would have to say about the county’s roads today!

Blue River Road’s Construction

Blue River Road, originally called the “Blue Valley Road,” was proposed first in 1927 and was to cover 9.25 miles of pavement. The plan was to connect the more isolated sections of Jackson County, including Martin City and Dodson, to the south city limits (77th Street).

The Kansas City Star reported, “Holmes street constitutes a good road for the territory west of the [Blue] river but there is now no satisfactory traffic way on the east side. This road would have great scenic value and would be an excellent artery for heavy traffic, since it would have almost level grades and could be built on easy curves.”

The road, set to be 100 feet wide, was contracted out for $374,321.74 to Clark Construction Company and was designed by Tom Veatch of Black & Veatch and Col. Edward M. Stayton (1874-1954), consulting engineer to Jackson County Highways. Both worked closely with Judge Harry S. Truman to get the project going.

Veatch said in 1929, “Our roads, like the streets, were laid out for the horse and buggy age. The motor car has loaded a great burden on them and that burden is going to increase every year as Kansas City and Jackson County grow.”

Holmes Road was newly paved for the first time from 110th Street to the Cass County line. The most picturesque of these new projects was the Blue River Road, following the south bank of the Blue River from Swope Park to Martin City.

Designed to “bring the motorist the maximum of scenic beauty,” Blue River Road was, even in the late 1920s, a way to utilize the natural landscape of the county. The Kansas City Star wrote, “When completed, the ribbon of concrete will roll over the hills and through the valleys of the Blue River, opening up at each turn a new aspect of natural beauty, high limestone cliffs, densely wooded hills, grassy meadows, here and there a corn field, a school house, and the ever-present road-house or chicken dinner farm.”

To construct Blue River Road, it was necessary for contractors to cut away at the sides of steep bluffs, especially on curves near the river bottoms itself.

People understood the importance of preserving the beauty of the road and protested successfully to ensure that there were no billboards allowed on Blue River.

The road was open to motorists in November 1930. In August 1931, a stretch of the road just west of 71 Highway and southeast of Dodson suffered structural failure. About 100 yards of the road was washed out after rains poured down after a drought.

Truman’s Ties to the New Highway System

In September 1932, Judge Truman took a motor car trip with Kansas City Star journalist A.B. McDonald (1871-1942) to examine the beauty of this new system of what was then termed “highways.”

In the northern part of the county near the Blue Mills-Sibley road, Truman grew nostalgic. “Here where we cross the Blue River was fought a skirmish of the Civil War. This was the old Santa Fe Trail from Fort Osage to Westport long before there was any Kansas City,” Truman reflected. “My grandfather, Solomon Young, was a freighter on this road from Fort Osage to Salt Lake City. It was then a whole day’s pull from Fort Osage to Independence. We cover the distance now in less than 30 miles.”

As the pair traveled down south further, Truman’s enthusiasm for Blue River Road cannot be denied. “Let me recommend [Blue River Road] for a drive for those unacquainted with the scenic beauties of this country,” Truman said. “Here at the right is the winding, heavily wooded basin of the Blue River, and we have already surveyed it and planned to make a park of it all through the whole seven miles of its length, with dams and lakes at intervals.”

This was to be the case, as later baseball fields, soccer fields, picnic areas and bike and walking trails were sprinkled throughout the Blue River Road area.

As the pair motored down to Holmes Road west to Martin City, Truman commented on how there were plans to pave the state line further south. “Jackson County and the state of

Kansas have agreed to build a concrete road [State Line Road] along this line,” Truman said.

The plan was to have Kansas pay for the construction from the city limits (77th Street) to Dallas (103rd Street) and Missouri would pave a road from 103rd Street to Martin City.
The final of the major plans for the road bond program started in the 1920s was completed in 1932 when 40 Highway was added to the highway system. The Kansas City Times reported, “The Jackson County Plan was based on practical needs; it is being carried out along practical lines; its effect will be a practical benefit of every citizen.”

More Modern Highways Move Traffic

What would be called Bruce R. Watkins Drive (71 Highway) was first introduced in 1947 in a Master Plan of roadways. It was proposed to be called the South Midtown Freeway.
Original plans for a large highway leading from the south to the center of the city were supposed to place the roadway through the Plaza and Brookside neighborhoods, but that was a plan that never was to be; residents wanted nothing to do with it.

But on the east side where more people of color lived, condemnation and property rights were infringed upon starting in 1969. The project, despite removing people from their homes, was delayed construction-wise until 1994.

Other highways such as I-35 were built in the Kansas City area as part of Eisenhower’s Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956. The Downtown Loop, although a necessary artery for highway travel, condemned many historic buildings and destroyed many well known landmarks.

Interstate 435, a loop around the whole of the metropolitan area, was first announced in 1958 and was expected to take 10 years to complete. The project began at State Line Road in 1966, and the final portions of the project were completed in 1987.

When the projects to pave roads and add more direct routes such as Blue River Road were constructed in the late 1920s, the multiple-lane interstates we see today were still decades away from being built. In 1921, there were only 350 miles of paved roads in the entirety of Jackson County, Mo.

Today, Kansas City, Mo. alone covers 6,000 lane miles of pavement.

The Future of Blue River Road

Over the past decade, large sections of Blue River Road have been closed off to vehicles due to deterioration. It’s no secret that Kansas City, in general, has struggled in the upkeep of even its busiest roads. Today, a large section from Grandview Road to Hickman Mills Drive of the once-scenic nine-plus mile road is shuddered to traffic.
Another large section from Bannister Road to just south of 435 is closed.

City engineers cite low usage of the road and lack of economic development as reasons that the road hasn’t been a priority.

In April of this year, hundreds of concerned south Kansas Citians entered Wonderscope Museum in the Red Bridge Shopping Center to hear what options were available for Blue River Road.

Proposals include several options from repairing the entire road so cars can once again travel this stretch of scenic roadway. The cost, including the current roadway and adding sidewalks, is the most expensive plan. Other less expensive options include keeping the current sections closed and converting Blue River Road into a walking trail.

Another historic beauty now shuttered to motorized vehicles is Cliff Drive in the northeast portion of Kansas City. Built as a 4.5 mile recreational roadway (designed by George Kessler as part of the City Beautiful Movement) that was finished in 1905, Cliff Drive was closed in 1998 after a landslide. In 2000, the road was given state funds when it was designated a state scenic byway.

It’s still closed off from motorists but is open to hikers and bikers; however, it is plagued by illegal dumping and vandalism due to its isolation.

The city is still taking public comments about Blue River Road until August 22. To read a detail of the plans and submit your own suggestion, please go to speakeasy.kcmo.gov/en/projects/the-future-of-blue-river-road.

From what I see, no one cites the historical significance, especially as it pertains to Truman’s involvement in this project in the city, as a reason to maintain it as it once was. Perhaps federal grants would open up to Jackson County leaders if they pursued the project from this perspective.

Even during the Great Depression, Truman pioneered road construction in Jackson County as he held the position of Presiding Judge of Jackson County Court. In 1932, he personally oversaw the construction of a “new” Red Bridge that replaced the 1892 structure.

It was no secret that Blue River Road was one of Truman’s favorite creations. Truman often would take driving tours down Blue River Road and was excited to propose that the land around it be made into a park. It was to be so.

Today, those parks, trails and fields appear to limit the priority of Blue River Road being open as a public, scenic roadway since it is deemed as low in economic development.

Tom Veatch recalled in 1961 about how Truman felt about the road. “The Blue River Road was an entirely new road. It was laid out and built entirely independent of any other road. It’s still in existence and is quite a scenic road, and [Truman] was very much interested in it. . . [Blue River Road] was one of his babies.”