Highway 2 Bridge
{{one source|date=April 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox Bridge
|bridge_name=Highway 2 Bridge
|image=DeSotoKansasBridgeHwy2.jpg
|caption=View of Highway 2 Bridge in De Soto
|carries=2 lanes of South Wyandotte Street
|crosses= Kansas River, BNSF Railway Line & Beecroft Lane
|maint= Leavenworth and Johnson Counties
|open= 1964{{cite news
| title = DeSoto Bridge Project
| newspaper = Lawrence Daily Journal-World
| location = Lawrence
| pages =
| language =
| publisher =
| date = July 19, 1962
| url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=L0cyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xOUFAAAAIBAJ&pg=7097%2C1507911
| accessdate = May 8, 2015}}
|locale= De Soto, Kansas
|coordinates= {{Coord|38.98223|-94.96481|region:US-KS|display=inline,title}}
|design= Girder
}}
File:KansasRiver DeSoto (1).jpg
The Highway 2 Bridge is an automobile and pedestrian crossing of the Kansas River on the border of Johnson and Leavenworth Counties in De Soto. The current bridge was built in 1964.
A girder bridge, it is the only bridge over the river for a span of 15 miles, as Eudora's bridge is 4 miles west and Bonner Spring's K-7 Highway Bridge is 11 miles to the east.
The bridge runs concurrent with Leavenworth County Highway 2 and S. Wyandotte Street.
The two lane bridge has a span of 1,670 feet[1] and was opened in 1965, built at a cost of $600,000. It was designed to be at least three feet higher than the levels reached in the Great Flood of 1951.
Its predecessor bridge was damaged by flood circa. 1895, reopened in 1937, then collapsed after a U.S. Army truck weighed more than the maximum supported weight in 1956,{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dQZGAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA1&dq=DeSoto+Bridge+Lawrence+Journal-World&article_id=4638,4391832&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjsg5rhub-JAxWFEFkFHYwCAWw4FBDoAXoECAgQAg#v=onepage&q=DeSoto%20Bridge%20Lawrence%20Journal-World&f=false |title=Lawrence Journal-World |date=December 5, 1956 |publisher=Lawrence Journal-World |language=en}}{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X0wxAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA5&dq=DeSoto+Bridge&article_id=6061,2251776&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjz_o_ytr-JAxWrEFkFHfWKNNs4eBDoAXoECAcQAg#v=onepage&q=DeSoto%20Bridge&f=false |title=Lawrence Journal-World |date=August 3, 1961 |publisher=Lawrence Journal-World |language=en}} reopened again in 1959 before being damaged beyond use by ice in January 1962. After repairs, the current bridge opened in 1964.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X0wxAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA5&dq=DeSoto+Bridge&article_id=6061,2251776&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjz_o_ytr-JAxWrEFkFHfWKNNs4eBDoAXoECAcQAg#v=onepage&q=DeSoto%20Bridge&f=false |title=Lawrence Journal-World |date=October 26, 1964 |publisher=Lawrence Journal-World |language=en}}
There was some contention between Leavenworth and Johnson counties regarding the DeSoto bridge and similar bridge projects.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EOFWAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA3&dq=DeSoto+Bridge&article_id=2923,6208779&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjpn7HFtL-JAxULEVkFHa_kDtw4bhDoAXoECAcQAg#v=onepage&q=DeSoto%20Bridge&f=false |title=Lawrence Daily World |publisher=Lawrence Daily World |language=en}}
Repairs to the old bridge included those made in 1928, 1930, and 1931. Repair costs were shared by Johnson County and Leavenworth County.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dzNXAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA2&dq=DeSoto+Bridge&article_id=2086,3082352&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjdg4LnsL-JAxXiEFkFHSYoO4E4ChDoAXoECAQQAg#v=onepage&q=DeSoto%20Bridge&f=false |title=Lawrence Journal-World |publisher=Lawrence Journal-World |language=en}}{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iDNXAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA1&dq=DeSoto+Bridge&article_id=6148,5106546&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjpn7HFtL-JAxULEVkFHa_kDtw4bhDoAXoECAoQAg#v=onepage&q=DeSoto%20Bridge&f=false |title=Lawrence Journal-World |date=March 20, 1931 |publisher=Lawrence Journal-World |language=en}}{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dTNXAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA2&dq=DeSoto+Bridge&article_id=2008,2871715&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwinwZ7ot7-JAxXbkokEHf_9NWI4jAEQ6AF6BAgEEAI#v=onepage&q=DeSoto%20Bridge&f=false |title=Lawrence Journal-World |date=February 26, 1931 |publisher=Lawrence Journal-World |language=en}}
Replacement of the bridge is planned for 2030, with a shared use path for cyclists and pedestrians.{{Cite web |title=MARC Transportation Department - Regional Transportation Plan (2050) - 2019 Call for Projects |url=https://marc2.org/tr_rtp/projectdetails.aspx?PID=1455 |access-date=2024-11-03 |website=marc2.org}}
{{Crossings navbox
|structure = Crossings
|place = Kansas River
|bridge = Wyandotte Street Bridge
|bridge signs =
|upstream = Kaw River Bridge at Eudora
|upstream signs =
|downstream = K-7 Bridge at Shawnee
|downstream signs = 20px
}}