Today was our last morning in Kansas City. After waking up on this bittersweet morning, everyone packed up the last of their stuff and helped clean up, making sure that the Airbnb house we had stayed at was left as we had found it. Three cars were Chicago bound while the fourth was headed back to Champaign for the rest of spring break. The car to Champaign was in for a 6 hour drive, while those headed back to Chicago were looking at a gruesome 8 hours. Unlike the night before, the weather was good with sunny blue skies. We were thankful for this good weather after having seen the high wind speed, rainy day the day before. After a quick stop to fill up gas we were on the road listening to music and thinking about our last couple of days in Kansas City. Our time in Kansas City was filled with visiting construction sites and exploring the city and its sights.

This trip to Kansas City allowed us to see three very unique construction sites within the span of just a couple of days. We were able to see and learn about the Margaritaville Hotel and the Meta Data Center 3 being built by Turner Construction as well as the US69 highway being constructed by KDOT and HNTB. These three different construction sites allowed us to expand our knowledge on the different types of infrastructure that we could pursue to build in our future careers. The Margaritaville Hotel was an example of hospitality construction in the end of its project lifecycle. The Meta Data Center 3 was the first time many of us had ever been around data center construction showing us just how much of a complex operation it is with the vast amount of trades needed on site for all of the MEP systems being installed. With the US69 highway site visit we were able to see highway construction at various stages of the project lifecycle and learn a lot about the behind the scenes work in determining how the tollway system would work. The group felt very thankful to have been able to experience seeing this many different construction sites and learn something new from each site visit.

The long drive back left those not driving with a lot of time to occupy themselves. Some spent the time by sleeping, others doing homework, and some sight seeing and trying to spot cool things. It was hard to miss the Christopher S. Bond Bridge which is a suspension bridge we saw as we were leaving Kansas City. The bridge is 1,716 feet long and 315 feet high. Another significant landmark was the bridge we drove over as we were crossing the Mississippi River when leaving Missouri and entering back into Illinois. The group was happy to have crossed the bridge and see the welcome to Illinois sign. Everyone made it back safely, ready to spend time with their families, and excited to see how their march madness brackets would place.

Blog by Hristo Toshev