The End of Missouri 269 in Kansas City

End of Missouri 269 in Kansas City

Missouri 269 is really a "why bother" highway between Interstate 35 and Missouri 210 in Kansas City. It runs along Chouteau Trafficway, which extends from Antioch Road in Gladstone to the Chouteau Bridge at the Missouri River.

This photo was taken on August 29, 1998, shortly after the old Chouteau Bridge was closed because the aging bridge had shown signs of weakening. The old Chouteau Bridge reached its end in 2001. Shortly thereafter, a new Chouteau Bridge opened.

As part of the Chouteau Parkway project, which began in April 2012, the state is relinquishing control of the route to Kansas City, and the route has since been decommissioned.

For some years before the new Chouteau Bridge was opened, the southern endpoint of Missouri 269 was marked here. Official Missouri highway maps, however, showed the southern terminus at the bridge, a few hundred feet south of the interchange with Missouri 210.

With the opening of the bridge, the signed terminus of Missouri 269 moved to the north landing of the bridge.

Missouri 269 was first designated in 1953, but only connected Missouri 10 (likely Parvin Road) and the bridge. It was extended across the river in 1956, routed along riverfront roads until reaching Chestnut Trafficway, and thence south to Independence Avenue. There was further re-routing south of the river in 1960 to the present-day Chouteau Trafficway and Belmont Avenue, still ending at Independence Avenue. The designation south of the river was removed by 1985, meaning that it stopped connecting with its "parent" highway, US 69.