Officials have been trying for years to build a cap above a portion of Interstate 670. Three years ago, work began to finally build a park that will cover four blocks of the South Loop and reconnect the Crossroads to downtown.

At the Downtown Council’s 2025 annual luncheon, officials with the Downtown Council, Port KC and the City of Kansas City, Missouri — partners in the major development project — announced a name for the park. The “Roy Blunt Luminary Park” is named for the former U.S. senator who was instrumental in getting federal funding for the project.

Blunt secured about $28 million for the $200 million project and was there when the city unveiled the plans for the highway lid in 2022. At the time , Mayor Quinton Lucas said, “I think we just name it Roy Blunt Park already.”

“There is no better way to pay tribute to the legacy of a true friend and fighter in Kansas City throughout his political career,” Lucas said. “Roy Blunt continually fought for and secured federal funding that has helped transform Kansas City into the growing, economically potent force we are today.”

When it’s completed, the 5.5-acre park will include entertainment amenities, play areas and space for pedestrians and cyclists. Blunt said he’s been “pleased” to be included in the project.

“I was lucky to get to represent Missouri and Kansas City in the U.S. Senate and as Missouri’s Secretary of State,” Blunt, who could not be at the luncheon, said in a statement today. “This park will reconnect communities and be another place that helps define Kansas City as one of America’s great cities. It is truly an honor to be associated with this park.”

Officials originally hoped the greenspace would be completed in time for the 2026 World Cup games in Kansas City. But the project is running nearly a year behind schedule.

Meredith Hoenes, the director of communications for PortKC, said the economic development agency believes construction will begin on the tunnel portion of the project by the end of this year. But the federal studies needed to begin construction have continued to delay the timeline.

“We had really hoped to originally be under construction and done with the deck before World Soccer made it here,” Hoenes said. “Right now, we're not sure what that looks like. If we can get it done to where I-670 is back open, that would be the dream. But we're going to be full force ahead, and we'll have to figure it out when we get there.”

One of the studies holding up the project is the Environmental Protection Agency’s Finding of No Significant Impact, which certifies there are no major environmental effects that would occur because of the project.

Depending on when construction begins, Hoenes said crews may be able to complete the tunnel and deck — but not a park — before pausing work during the World Cup. With the delays, she said the team is still figuring out alternatives. No matter what, Hoenes said crews do not want construction to interfere with World Cup traffic.

“It may be that our construction timeline gets pushed so far back that it’s not even the case,” Hoenes said. “We don't know what's going to happen and when. I think when we finally get that green light where we can start construction … we'll have better answers.”

The timeline for the federal studies is unclear.