KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Whenever the Missouri Department of Transportation begins construction on land that is considered a site of early settlements, archaeologists must be on site. This allows them to ensure cultural resources are not impacted.

When construction began along 5th Street and Washington Street as part of the Buck O'Neil Bridge Replacement Project, cultural resource specialists at Burns & McDonnell made a few discoveries.

When the team made a surprising discovery, Andrew Gottsfield, a senior cultural resource specialist at Burns & McDonnell, was there.

"When we dug a hole right there, we realized that it was native soil, and then we dug a hole right in the basement here, and we found a bunch of brick, so we just connected the dots and found the foundation and came around," Gottsfield said.

That foundation, the team thinks, is from an old hotel from the 1800s.

With the discovery of the foundation, Gottsfield said, came the discovery of other kinds of essential artifacts.

"We found what we think are numerous privies, which are outhouses, and outhouses to archaeologists and urban archaeology are important because people would put their trash in the privy," Gottsfield said.

There were bottles, jars, soap holders, combs, eyeglasses, and more. The group found some items dating back hundreds of years.

Through their discovery, they concluded that the hotel was most likely for working-class people.

"This is important because we can document the lives of people that aren't documented in history. Most of history is documented by the people that are the rich merchants and whatever. So this will give us an indication of the day-to-day behavior of the people that were working that built Kansas City," Gottsfield said.

The artifacts will now go back to the cultural resource specialists' lab to be cleaned and documented. Some of the pieces could go into a museum or be put on display for MoDOT.

Officials will send some to a facility for other people to use when they find similar sites to do comparative work with the artifacts.

Daisha Jones at KSHB first reported this story.

CINCINNATI —

A project to replace the skylight at the Cincinnati Library's downtown location is underway.

It is the first phase of the Downtown Main Library's building improvement project. Crews placed a construction crane directly underneath the skylight on E. 9th Street. As a result, 9th Street between Vine Street and Walnut Street will be closed to all street and pedestrian traffic. The project is expected to continue through December.

Anyone who wishes to visit the library is asked to enter through the Walnut Street entrance or through the garden gate. The Downtown Main Library's drive-thru and parking lots will be closed.

Later this month, work will begin to disassemble the book sculpture and fountain on the Vine Street Plaza, which will be moved into temporary storage so renovations on the plaza can begin.

Hamilton County voters passed Issue 3, a levy that increased property taxes, to pay for the library improvements in 2018.

CINCINNATI — As umbrellas and tents go up for the Kroger Wellness Experience at The Banks, a multi-day festival celebrating healthy habits and food, the potential for traffic issues downtown grows as well.

“This is our third year doing it,” Brian Endicott with Meyer Natural Food said Thursday. “It’s extremely stressful and difficult, but in the end it all comes together and turns out great.”

A creative strategist for Laura’s Lean Beef, Endicott and his team plan to pass out close to 6,000 taco samples at this weekend’s event, which is all about helping people find ways to live a healthier life.

“We know there’s several other concerts going on in the area, a couple of Reds games going on,” he said. “So we’re really hoping that we’ll end up with a large turnout.”

But that large amount of people could turn out to be a headache for some drivers. Several access roads to The Banks will be closed by performance stages and streets lined with vendors. That’s on top of several major construction projects downtown and bridges that are closed for maintenance.

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“It’s a little hectic,” downtown resident David Purtell said. “I mean, honestly, it makes it a little bit harder to get back from work and the gym and everything else, so it’s a little frustrating at times especially like during Reds games and they block off the street. So it’s frustrating, but I am excited to see the area growing.”

Kroger spokesperson Jenifer Moore said people planning to attend the festival should plan ahead.

“There’ll be a lot of activities happening,” she said. “So, if you want to, you know you can always drive down. There’ll be ample parking.”

She said all the parking garages should be open, but delays should be expected as people try to navigate street closures.

“We’ll have a number of entertainment options for the whole family to enjoy,” Moore said of the health and wellness fair. “There will be free concerts each day beginning at 4 o’clock, so there’s a lot of excitement building for this. Our goal, like I said before, is to really connect the food with medicine so that everyone can see the importance of being healthy and being safe.”