U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Scientific Investigations Report 2016–5061

Prepared in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Transportation

Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys at Highway 

Bridges Crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, 

Missouri, June 2–4, 2015

FLOW
Front cover: Bathymetry and vertically averaged velocities of the Missouri River channel near 

structure A1800 on Interstate 635 near Kansas City, Missouri, on June 2, 2015.

Back cover: Top: Shaded triangulated irregular network (TIN) visualization of the channel bed 

and A, left (northeast) side and B, right (southwest) side of main channel pier 3 of structure 

A1800 on Interstate 635 crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri, on June 2, 2015.

Bottom: The U.S. Geological Survey boat preparing for the bathymetric and velocimetric surveys 

at bridges near Kansas City, Missouri, on June 4, 2015.
Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys at 

Highway Bridges Crossing the Missouri 

River near Kansas City, Missouri, June 2–4, 

2015

By Richard J. Huizinga

Prepared in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Transportation

Scientific Investigations Report 2016–5061

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Department of the Interior

SALLY JEWELL, Secretary

U.S. Geological Survey

Suzette M. Kimball, Director

U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2016

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Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also may contain copyrighted materials 

as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items must be secured from the copyright owner.

Suggested citation:

Huizinga, R.J., 2016, Bathymetric and velocimetric surveys at highway bridges crossing the Missouri River near 

Kansas City, Missouri, June 2–4, 2015: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2016–5061, 93 p., 

http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/sir20165061.

ISSN 2328-0328 (online)
iii

Contents

Abstract...........................................................................................................................................................1

Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................1

Purpose and Scope ..............................................................................................................................4

Description of Study Area ...................................................................................................................4

Description of Flow Conditions...........................................................................................................4

Description of Equipment and Basic Processing............................................................................4

Basic Description of Methods............................................................................................................6

Surveying Methods .....................................................................................................................6

Survey Quality-Assurance/Quality-Control Measures..........................................................7

Beam Angle Check .............................................................................................................7

Patch Tests...........................................................................................................................8

Uncertainty Estimation................................................................................................................9

Results of Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys.................................................................................10

Structure A1800 on Interstate 635....................................................................................................13

Structure A4649 on U.S. Highway 169 .............................................................................................22

Structure A4060 on State Highway 9...............................................................................................29

Structure A7650 on Interstate 35......................................................................................................36

Structure A5817 on State Highway 269...........................................................................................42

Structure A0767 on Interstate 435....................................................................................................49

Structures A4757 and L0568 on State Highway 291 ......................................................................57

General Findings and Implications ..................................................................................................65

Effects of Low to Moderate Flooding Compared to Previous Surveys .............................65

Size and Shape of Scour Holes ...............................................................................................69

Summary and Conclusions.........................................................................................................................69

References Cited..........................................................................................................................................70

Appendix 1—Bathymetric Data Reproducibility Test Results .............................................................74

Angular Offset for Roll Tests .............................................................................................................74

Reproducibility of Data ......................................................................................................................80

References Cited.................................................................................................................................86

Appendix 2—Shaded Triangulated Irregular Network Images of Channel and Side of Pier for 

Each Surveyed Pier........................................................................................................................87
iv

Figures

1. Map Showing location of bridges across the Missouri River in the Kansas City, 

Missouri, area ...............................................................................................................................2

2. Graphs showing unit values of discharge from the streamflow-gaging station on the 

Missouri River at Kansas City, Missouri May 1 through August 31, 2015............................5

3. Photographs showing the Teledyne RESON SeaBat® 7125-SV2 multibeam 

echosounder..................................................................................................................................6

4. Illustration showing generalized effects on data from a multibeam echosounder...........9

5. Map showing total propagated uncertainty of bathymetric data from the Missouri 

River channel near structure A0767 on Interstate 435 in Kansas City, Missouri .............11

6. Map showing bathymetric survey of the Missouri River channel near structure 

A1800 on Interstate 635 near Kansas City, Missouri.............................................................14

7. Graph showing frequency distribution of bed elevations for bathymetric surveygrid cells on the Missouri River near structure A1800 on Interstate 635 near 

Kansas City, Missouri, on June 2, 2015, compared to previous surveys...........................15

8. Profile showing key features, substructural and superstructural details, and 

surveyed channel bed of structure A1800 on Interstate 635 crossing the Missouri 

River near Kansas City, Missouri .............................................................................................17

9. Map showing difference between surfaces created from bathymetric surveys 

of the Missouri River channel near structure A1800 on Interstate 635 near Kansas 

City, Missouri, on June 2, 2015, and July 16, 2011 .................................................................18

10. Map showing difference between surfaces created from bathymetric surveys 

of the Missouri River channel near structure A1800 on Interstate 635 near Kansas 

City, Missouri, on June 2, 2015, and March 15, 2010.............................................................20

11. Map showing bathymetry and vertically averaged velocities of the Missouri River 

channel near structure A1800 on Interstate 635 near Kansas City, Missouri ..................21

12. Map showing bathymetric survey of the Missouri River channel near structure 

A4649 on U.S. Highway 169 in Kansas City, Missouri ...........................................................23

13. Graph showing frequency distribution of bed elevations for bathymetric surveygrid cells on the Missouri River near structure A4649 on U.S. Highway 169 in 

Kansas City, Missouri, on June 2, 2015, compared to previous surveys...........................24

14. Profile showing key features, substructural and superstructural details, and 

surveyed channel bed of structure A4649 on U.S. Highway 169 crossing the 

Missouri River in Kansas City, Missouri..................................................................................25

15. Map showing difference between surfaces created from bathymetric surveys 

of the Missouri River channel near structure A4649 on U.S. Highway 169 in Kansas 

City, Missouri, on June 2, 2015, and July 17, 2011 .................................................................26

16. Map showing difference between surfaces created from bathymetric surveys 

of the Missouri River channel near structure A4649 on U.S. Highway 169 in Kansas 

City, Missouri, on June 2, 2015, and March 16, 2010.............................................................27

17. Map showing bathymetry and vertically averaged velocities of the Missouri River 

channel near structure A4649 on U.S. Highway 169 in Kansas City, Missouri.................28

18. Map showing bathymetric survey of the Missouri River channel near structure 

A4060 on State Highway 9 in Kansas City, Missouri.............................................................30

19. Graph showing frequency distribution of bed elevations for bathymetric surveygrid cells on the Missouri River near structure A4060 on State Highway 9 in 

Kansas City, Missouri, on June 3, 2015, compared to previous surveys...........................31
v

 20. Profile showing key features, substructural and superstructural details, and 
vi

 38. Shaded triangulated irregular network visualization of the channel bed and right 

Appendix Figures

1–1. Map showing location of test survey area on Longview Lake near Kansas City, 

Missouri, on June 1 and June 5, 2015 .....................................................................................75

1–2. Map showing configuration of test survey area on Longview Lake near Kansas 

City, Missouri ...............................................................................................................................76

1–3. Screen-capture images of a profile through a bathymetric surface processed with 

an angular offset for roll ............................................................................................................77
vii

1–4. Map showing difference maps for six comparison tests of bathymetric surfaces 

created using an optimized roll angle .....................................................................................79

1–5. Map showing difference maps for six comparison tests of bathymetric surfaces 

created using the corrected roll angle ...................................................................................81

1–6. Screen-capture image of a profile through a bathymetric surface processed with 

the corrected roll angle and cropped to remove beams beyond 60 degrees from 

nadir..............................................................................................................................................82

1–7. Map showing difference maps for six comparison tests of bathymetric surfaces 

created using the cropped roll angle (corrected roll angle and cropped to remove 

beams beyond 60 degrees from nadir.....................................................................................83

1–8. Graphs showing comparison of frequency distribution and cumulative percent of 

differences in bed elevation for bathymetric survey-grid cells from various test 

surveys on Longview Lake near Kansas City, Missouri .......................................................85

2–1. Shaded triangulated irregular network visualization of the channel bed of structure 

A1800 on Interstate 635 crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri...........87

 2–2. Shaded triangulated irregular network visualization of the channel bed of structure 

A4649 on U.S. Highway 169 crossing the Missouri River in Kansas City, Missouri.........88

2–3. Shaded triangulated irregular network visualization of the channel bed of structure 

A4060 on State Highway 9 crossing the Missouri River in Kansas City, Missouri...........89

2–4. Shaded triangulated irregular network visualization of the channel bed of main 

channel pylon of structure A7650 on Interstate 35 crossing the Missouri River in 

Kansas City, Missouri.................................................................................................................90

2–5. Shaded triangulated irregular network visualization of the channel bed of structure 

A5817 on State Highway 269 crossing the Missouri River in Kansas City, Missouri.......91

2–6. Shaded triangulated irregular network visualization of the channel bed of structure 

A0767 on Interstate 435 crossing the Missouri River in Kansas City, Missouri................92

2–7. Shaded triangulated irregular network visualization of the channel bed of main 

channel pier 2C of structure A4757 and pier 5 of structure L0568 on State Highway 

291 crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri ..............................................93

Tables

1. Highway bridges crossing the Missouri River in and into Missouri in the Kansas 

City area, in downstream order..................................................................................................3

2. Results of a beam angle check from two check lines over a reference surface 

at Longview Lake near Kansas City, Missouri, on June 1, 2015............................................8

3. Patch test results at Longview Lake from surveying on the Missouri River near 

Kansas City, Missouri...................................................................................................................8

4. Total propagated uncertainty results for bathymetric data at a 1.64-foot grid 

spacing from surveys on the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri, June 2–4, 

2015 ...............................................................................................................................................10

5. Bridge and survey information, and selected channel-bed elevations from surveys 

on the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri, June 2–4, 2015....................................13

6. Results near piers from surveys on the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri, 

June 2–4, 2015 .............................................................................................................................16

7. Summary information and bathymetric surface difference statistics from surveys 

on the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri, from June 2–4, 2015, and previous 

surveys .........................................................................................................................................19
viii

Appendix Tables

1–1. Summary of difference results for bathymetric data at a 1.64-foot grid spacing 

from test surveys on Longview Lake near Kansas City, Missouri, on June 1 and 

June 5, 2015. ................................................................................................................................80

1–2. Total propagated uncertainty results for bathymetric data at a 1.64-foot grid 

spacing from test surveys on Longview Lake near Kansas City, Missouri, on June 1 

and June 5, 2015..........................................................................................................................84

Conversion Factors

U.S. customary units to International System of Units

Multiply By To obtain

Length

foot (ft) 0.3048 meter (m)

mile (mi) 1.609 kilometer (km)

Volume

cubic yard (yd3) 0.7646 cubic meter (m3)

Flow rate

foot per second (ft/s) 0.3048 meter per second (m/s)

cubic foot per second (ft3/s) 0.02832 cubic meter per second (m3/s)

Datum

Vertical coordinate information is referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 

(NAVD 88).

Horizontal coordinate information is referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83).

Supplemental Information

In this report, the words “left” and “right” generally refer to directions that would be reported 

by an observer facing downstream.

Distance on the Missouri River is given in river miles (RM) upstream from the confluence with 

the Mississippi River.

Frequency is given in kilohertz (kHz).

Data were collected, processed, and output in the International System of Units, and converted 

to inch/pound units for presentation in the report at the request and for the convenience of the 

cooperator.
ix

Abbreviations

ADCP acoustic Doppler current profiler

CUBE Combined Uncertainty Bathymetric Estimator

GGA shorthand for the $GPGGA standard output format for Global Navigation 

Satellite System (GNSS) essential fix data defined by the National Marine 

Electronics Association (NMEA)-0183 standard that includes information on 

the three-dimensional location and accuracy of the GNSS receiver (National 

Marine Electronics Association, 2002)

GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System

IMU inertial motion unit

INS inertial navigation system

MBES multibeam echosounder (the sonar system)

MBMS multibeam echosounder mapping system (the sonar, navigation, and data 

acquisition system)

MMSTM POS-PacTM Mobile Mapping Suite (the navigation solution post-processing 

software)

MoDOT Missouri Department of Transportation

NMEA National Marine Electronics Association

POS MVTM Position Orientation Solution for Marine Vessels (the inertial navigation system)

RTK real-time kinematic (a type of differential correction for navigation with GNSS)

SBET standard best estimate of travel (a postprocessed navigation solution)

TIN triangulated irregular network

TPU total propagated uncertainty

USGS U.S. Geological Survey

VMT Velocity Mapping Toolbox (Parsons and others, 2013) 

Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys at Highway Bridges 

Crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri, 

June 2–4, 2015

By Richard J. Huizinga

Abstract

Bathymetric and velocimetric data were collected by 

the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Missouri 

Department of Transportation, near 8 bridges at 7 highway 

crossings of the Missouri River in Kansas City, Missouri, from 

June 2 to 4, 2015. A multibeam echosounder mapping system 

was used to obtain channel-bed elevations for river reaches 

ranging from 1,640 to 1,660 feet longitudinally and extending 

laterally across the active channel from bank to bank during 

low to moderate flood flow conditions. These bathymetric surveys indicate the channel conditions at the time of the surveys 

and provide characteristics of scour holes that may be useful 

in the development of predictive guidelines or equations for 

scour holes. These data also may be useful to the Missouri 

Department of Transportation as a low to moderate flood flow 

comparison to help assess the bridges for stability and integrity issues with respect to bridge scour during floods.

Bathymetric data were collected around every pier 

that was in water, except those at the edge of water or surrounded by a debris raft, and scour holes were observed at 

most surveyed piers. The observed scour holes at the surveyed 

bridges were examined with respect to shape and depth. 

Although exposure of parts of substructural support elements 

was observed at several piers, the exposure likely can be 

considered minimal compared to the overall substructure that 

remains buried in bed material at these piers.

The frontal slope values determined for scour holes 

observed in the current (2015) study generally are similar to 

recommended values in the literature and values determined 

for scour holes in previous bathymetric surveys. Several of 

the structures had piers that were skewed to primary approach 

flow, and generally the scour hole was deeper and longer on 

the side of the pier with impinging flow, with some amount of 

deposition on the leeward side, typical of conditions observed 

at piers skewed to approach flow; however, at structure A7650 

(site 10), the scour hole was deeper and longer on the leeward 

side of the pier, possibly because of a deflection and contraction of flow caused by a protrusion of the corresponding bank 

at the bridge.

Previous bathymetric surveys exist for all the sites examined in this study. Comparisons between bathymetric surfaces 

from the previous surveys (in March 2010 and during the 2011 

flood) and those of this study do not indicate any consistent 

correlation in channel-bed elevations with flow conditions. 

A simplified assumption of equal to lesser magnitude scour 

for the lower discharge in the 2015 surveys did not consistently prove to be true, particularly in respect to the depth of 

observed scour near the piers when compared to results collected during the 2011 flood.

A local spatial minimum average channel-bed elevation 

at structure A7650 (site 10) compared to adjacent sites may 

indicate this site is at or near a local feature that controls sediment deposition and scour. The average channel-bed elevation 

values and the distribution of channel-bed elevations imply 

that sediment unable to deposit near structure A7650 is flushed 

downstream and deposits at the next downstream site, structure A5817 (site 11).

Introduction

Scour in alluvial channels is the removal of channel bed 

and bank material by flowing water and is the leading cause 

of bridge failures in the United States (Richardson and Davis, 

2001). Scour at a bridge site is the result of short- and longterm geomorphic processes and the local effects caused by elements of the structure in or adjacent to the waterway (Richardson and Davis, 2001; Huizinga and Rydlund, 2004). Because 

the effects of scour can be severe and dangerous, bridges and 

other structures over waterways are routinely assessed and 

inspected. Scour processes can be exacerbated during highflow conditions because velocity and depth typically increase 

during high-flow conditions.

The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) 

is responsible for most of the transportation infrastructure 

in the State. A part of this responsibility is fulfilled through 

periodic inspections of highway structures, including bridges 

that span waterways. At most of these structures, all or most of 

the structure can be fully inspected from land or personnel lift 

trucks deployed from the roadway of the structure; however, 

for structures over primary waterways, such as the Missouri 

River, inspection of the part of the bridge that is underwater 

requires a different approach.
2 Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys at Highway Bridges Crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation 

with MoDOT, began assessing scour at waterway crossings 

throughout the State in 1991 (Huizinga and Rydlund, 2004). 

In 2007, the USGS, in cooperation with MoDOT, began 

determining channel bathymetry and monitoring bridges for 

scour using single-beam echosounders and a multibeam echosounder mapping system (MBMS; Rydlund, 2009; Huizinga, 

2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015; Huizinga and others, 2010). In 

particular, the MBMS has proven to be a useful tool not only 

in determining channel bathymetry but also in providing a 

medium- to high-resolution representation of bridge structural 

elements below the water line. In 2010, the USGS, in cooperation with MoDOT, began collecting bathymetric data at 

various highway bridges across primary waterways in Missouri. In March 2010, 9 highway bridges at 7 crossings 

over the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri, 

were assessed using the MBMS (Huizinga, 2010); and in 

October 2010, 12 highway bridges at 7 crossings over the 

Missouri and Mississippi Rivers near St. Louis, Mo., were 

assessed (Huizinga, 2011). During high-flow conditions in 

June–August 2011, many of the highway bridges and several 

of the railroad bridges along the entirety of the Missouri River 

downstream from Montana were assessed (Densmore and 

others, 2013; Dietsch and others, 2014), including the 

37 highway bridges (at 28 crossings) that span the Missouri 

River in and into Missouri (Huizinga, 2012). In April and May 

2013, 10 highway bridges at 9 crossings over the Missouri 

River between Kansas City and St. Louis, Mo., were assessed 

as part of more routine, nonflood surveys at bridge sites in 

and into Missouri (Huizinga, 2014). In June 2014, 8 highway 

bridges at 7 crossings over the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers on the periphery of Missouri also were assessed as part of 

the routine, nonflood surveys at bridge sites (Huizinga, 2015).

The current (2015) study is the second round of routine, 

nonflood surveys at the highway bridges across the Missouri 

River in Kansas City, Mo. (fig. 1), and entails 8 bridges at 

7 crossings (table 1). Two bridges at one crossing that were 

part of the previous surveys in Kansas City (structures K0456 

and A0450 on U.S. Highway 69; Huizinga, 2010, 2012) currently (2015) are being replaced and were not surveyed as part 

MISSOURI

KANSAS

LOCATION MAP

Map area Missouri River

Longview Lake

St. Louis

Jefferson City

635

670

435

435

35

35

29

29

70

70

210 210

1

283

269

9

9

291

69

69

69

24

24

169

169

169

78

94°38' 94°36' 94°34' 94°32' 94°30' 94°28' 94°26' 94°24'

39°10'

39°08'

39°06'

Base from U.S. Geological digital data, 1:100,000, 1996

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 15 North

Horizontal coordinate information referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)

Flow

A1800

K0456 A0450

A4649

A4060

ASB

Railroad

Bridge

Second

Hannibal

Railroad

Bridge

Harry S

Truman

Railroad

Bridge

A5817

A0767

A7650

A4757

L0568

Kansas City, Missouri

7

6

6

8

9

10

11

12

13

0 1 2 3 MILES

0 1 2 3 4 KILOMETERS

MISSOURI

RIVER

RIVER

MISSOURI RIVER

KAN SAS

MISSOURI

KANSAS

EXPLANATION

Principal railroad routes

U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging

 station on the Missouri River at Kansas City,

 station 06893000

Highway bridge location—numbering from

 2011 flood study (Huizinga, 2012)

Figure 1. Location of bridges across the Missouri River in the Kansas City, Missouri, area.
Site 

number1

(fig. 1)

Primary 

agency

Structure number Local name County Route River mile2 Surveyed as part of this study Remarks 

5 KDOT 435-105-11.97 

(235)

Parkville Platte, Missouri IS 435 S 383.4 No Dual bridge crossing with 435-105-1

(240)

435-105-11.98 

(240)

Parkville Wyandotte, Kansas IS 435 N No Dual bridge crossing with 435-105-1

(235)

6 MoDOT A1800 Riverside Platte, Missouri IS 635 374.1 Yes -- 7 MoDOT K0456 Fairfax Platte, Missouri US 69 S 372.6 No Dual bridge crossing with A0450, bei

replaced

A0450 Platte Purchase Wyandotte, Kansas US 69 N No Dual bridge crossing with K0456, bei

replaced 

8 MoDOT A4649 Broadway 

Avenue

Clay, Missouri US 169 366.2 Yes -- 

9 MoDOT A4060 Heart of 

America

Clay, Missouri MO 9 365.5 Yes -- 

10 MoDOT A7650 Christopher 

Bond

Clay, Missouri IS 35 364.7 Yes -- 

11 MoDOT A5817 Chouteau Clay, Missouri MO 269 362.3 Yes -- 

12 MoDOT A0767 Randolph Clay, Missouri IS 435 360.3 Yes -- 13 MoDOT A4757 Courtney Jackson, Missouri MO 291 S 352.7 Yes Dual bridge crossing with L0568 

L0568 Courtney Jackson, Missouri MO 291 N Yes Dual bridge crossing with A4757 

1Site number of bridges in "Greater Kansas City area" from Huizinga (2012).2River mile is the distance upstream from the confluence of the Missouri River with the Mississippi River at St. Louis, Mo. (fig. 1).

Table 1. Highway bridges crossing the Missouri River in and into Missouri in the Kansas City area, in downstream order.[KDOT, Kansas Department of Transportation; IS, Interstate highway; S, southbound; N, northbound; MoDOT, Missouri Department of Transportation; --, not known/applicablsouri State highway]
4 Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys at Highway Bridges Crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri

of this study (table 1); however, one bridge that was surveyed 

as part of the series during the 2011 flood study (structure 

A7650 on Interstate 29; Huizinga, 2012) is included in the 

current study.

Purpose and Scope

The purpose of this report is to document the results of 

2015 bathymetric and velocimetric surveys of the Missouri 

River channel near 8 highway bridges at 7 crossings in the 

greater Kansas City, Mo. (fig. 1), area using a MBMS and 

an acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP; table 1). Equipment and methods used and results obtained are described. 

The results obtained from the bathymetric and velocimetric 

surveys of the channel document the channel-bed conditions 

and velocity distribution at the time of the surveys and provide 

characteristics of scour holes that may be useful in developing predictive guidelines or equations for scour holes. These 

data also may be used by MoDOT as a low to moderate flood 

flow comparison to help assess the bridges for stability and 

integrity issues with respect to bridge scour. Comparison of 

results to previous surveys at the sites (Huizinga, 2010, 2012) 

also are provided.

Description of Study Area

The study area for this report is the Missouri River in 

Kansas City, Mo. (fig. 1). The Missouri River flows through 

the Kansas City area from west to east, meandering across the 

flood plain. The river is highly channelized in the Kansas City 

area, with rock revetment and spur dikes along the banks to 

maintain the channel alignment, and levees and floodwalls on 

the upper banks to limit flooding in the industrial, commercial, 

and agricultural areas on the flood plains. The site numbering 

sequence used in Huizinga (2012) is used in this report for 

consistency and comparability.

Description of Flow Conditions

Data from the streamflow-gaging station (hereinafter 

referred to as “streamgage”) on the Missouri River at Kansas City, Mo. (station 06893000; U.S. Geological Survey, 

2015; fig. 1), indicates the Missouri River was between flood 

rises when the sites were surveyed June 2–4, 2015 (fig. 2A); 

however, the trough happened during generally higher summer 

flows (fig. 2B), during low to moderate flood flow conditions 

of nearly 100,000 cubic feet per second (ft3/s), compared to 

45,000–50,000 ft3/s observed during troughs in early May and 

late August.

The discharge on the Missouri River as measured at 

the Kansas City streamgage ranged from about 92,900 to 

116,000 ft3/s during the surveys. This discharge range has a 

daily exceedance range of about 6 to 11 percent (U.S. Geological Survey, 2003) and is less than the 50-percent annual 

exceedance probability (2-year recurrence interval) flood 

discharge of 142,000 ft3/s (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 

2004, plate E–20).

Flow conditions at or less than the 50-percent annual 

exceedance probability (2-year recurrence interval) flood is 

in the low to moderate flood flow regime. In an analysis of 

real-time scour monitor data at Jefferson City, Mo., Huizinga 

(2014) noted that substantial pier scour begins soon after 

the onset of hydrograph rise (substantial rise of 8 feet [ft] or 

more), although the scour often does not reach maximum 

depth until the peak stage is reached or sometime thereafter 

(see fig. 35, Huizinga [2014]). Although the peak discharge for 

the summer happened shortly after the surveys, several moderate peaks had been observed at the Kansas City streamgage, 

and flow was substantially higher than base flow based on the 

daily exceedance values during the surveys (fig. 2B). Although 

the scour scenario captured at the sites in this study may 

not represent the maximum scour potential at the sites, the 

cumulative information gathered at each site during the course 

of the three surveys in 2010, 2011, and 2015 remains useful 

for determining scour for a variety of flow conditions, particularly when combined with, or compared to, a scour scenario 

captured at high flood flow conditions.

Description of Equipment and Basic Processing

The bathymetry of the Missouri River at each of the 

bridges was determined using a high-resolution MBMS. The 

various components of the MBMS used for this study are 

described in reports about studies on the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers in Missouri (Huizinga, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 

2014, 2015; Huizinga and others, 2010) and on the Missouri 

and Yellowstone Rivers in North Dakota (Densmore and others, 2013). The survey methods used to obtain the data were 

similar to these previous studies, as were the measures used 

to ensure data quality. A brief description of the equipment 

follows; a complete description of the various system components and methods used in this study is available in the previous reports by Huizinga (2010), Huizinga and others (2010), 

and Densmore and others (2013).

An MBMS is an integration of several individual components: the multibeam echosounder (MBES), an inertial navigation system (INS), and a data-collection and data-processing 

computer. The MBES that was used for the 2015 surveys is 

the Teledyne RESON SeaBat® 7125-SV2 (fig. 3), operated at 

a frequency of 400 kilohertz (kHz). The INS that was used is 

the Applanix Position Orientation Solution for Marine Vessels 

(POS MVTM) WaveMaster system. The INS provides position 

in three-dimensional space and measures the heave, pitch, 

roll, and heading of the vessel (and, thereby, the MBES) to 

accurately position the data received by the MBES. A cellular 

network link to the virtual real-time station network (established and maintained by MoDOT, available through registration at http://gpsweb3.modot.mo.gov/) was used to provide the 

real-time kinematic (RTK) differential corrections to the INS 

for the navigation and tide solution during the 2015 surveys.
Introduction 5

Figure 2. Unit values of discharge (15-minute interval) from the streamflow-gaging station on the Missouri River at 

Kansas City, Missouri (station 06893000; U.S Geological Survey, 2015). A, May 27 through June 10, 2015. B, May 1 through 

August 31, 2015.

8 6

11

12

9

10

13

Date

5/1 5/16 6/1 6/16 7/1 7/16 8/1 8/16 9/1

50

70

90

110

130

150

170

190

210

230

250

5/27 5/28 5/29 5/30 5/31 6/1 6/2 6/3 6/4 6/5 6/6 6/7 6/8 6/9 6/10

Unit values of discharge, in thousand cubic feet per second

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

200

300

EXPLANATION

Approximate time of survey at

 indicated site number (fig. 1)

6

A

B

Date range

shown in

A above
6 Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys at Highway Bridges Crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri

As in previous surveys (Huizinga, 2010, 2011, 2012, 

2013, 2014, 2015), the navigation information from the 2015 

surveys was postprocessed using the POS-PacTM Mobile Mapping Suite (MMSTM) software (Applanix Corporation, 2009) 

to mitigate the effects of degraded positional accuracy of 

the vessel while near or under a bridge. POS-PacTM MMSTM 

provides tools to identify and compensate for sensor and environmental errors and computes an optimally blended navigation solution from the Global Navigation Satellite System 

(GNSS) and inertial motion unit (IMU) raw data. The blended 

navigation solution (called a “standard best estimate of travel” 

or “SBET” file) generated by postprocessing the navigation 

data was applied to the survey at a given bridge to minimize 

the effects of the GNSS outages while surveying under the 

bridges.

The data from the MBES and INS components were processed and integrated into a cohesive dataset for cleanup and 

visualization. A computer onboard the survey vessel ran the 

HYPACK®/HYSWEEP® data acquisition software (HYPACK, 

Inc., 2015) that was used to prepare for the bathymetric surveys and collect the survey data. After completing the surveys, 

the acquired depth data were further processed to remove data 

spikes and other spurious points in the multibeam swath trace, 

georeferenced using the navigation and position solution data 

from the SBET file from POS-PacTM MMSTM, and visualized 

in HYPACK®/HYSWEEP® as a triangulated irregular network (TIN) surface or a point cloud. The georeferenced data 

were output to a comma-delimited file, either having no data 

reduction or filtered and reduced to a 1.64-ft data resolution. 

These comma-delimited data were compiled into a geographic 

information system database for each site using the ArcGIS 

package (Environmental Systems Research Institute, 2013).

Information about the velocity of the river at various 

points throughout each study reach were collected by means 

of an ADCP, similar to recent previous studies by Huizinga 

(2012, 2013, 2014, 2015). A Teledyne RD Instruments Rio 

Grande ADCP operating at 600 kHz was used to obtain velocities at 1.64-ft increments, or “bins,” throughout the water 

column. The Rio Grande 600 kHz ADCP operates in depths 

from 2.3 to 230 ft and determines the velocity of the water 

by measuring the Doppler shift of an acoustic signal reflected 

from various particles suspended in the water (Mueller and 

others, 2013). By measuring the Doppler shift in four different 

beam directions, the velocity of the water in each bin can be 

determined in three dimensions.

Basic Description of Methods

The methods used to acquire and ensure the collection of 

quality data were the same as those used in previous studies 

using the MBES (methods are detailed in Huizinga, 2010, 

2012; Huizinga and others, 2010). A brief summary of—and 

differences from—these methods are highlighted below.

Surveying Methods

Generally, the surveyed area extended across the active 

channel from bank to bank, as had been done in the previous 

studies on the Missouri River near Kansas City (Huizinga, 

A B

Piezoceramic

projector array

Piezoceramic

receiver

array

Sound

velocity

probe

(inside

shroud) Head tilt

bracket

Transducer

head

Stabilizer

struts

Figure 3. The Teledyne RESON SeaBat® 7125-SV2 multibeam echosounder. A, viewed from the bottom. B, mounted on 

the port side of the U.S. Geological Survey boat.
Introduction 7

2010, 2012). The surveyed reaches ranged from 1,640 to 

1,660 ft long in the direction of flow, positioned so that the 

surveyed highway bridges were about one-third to one-half 

of the total length from the upstream boundary, using about 

the same upstream and downstream boundaries as were used 

in the 2011 flood study (Huizinga, 2012). The upstream and 

downstream boundaries of the surveyed areas were assumed to 

be beyond the substantial hydraulic effects (wake vortices and 

shear flow) in the immediate vicinity of the bridge structures.

As in previous studies, bathymetric data were obtained 

along longitudinal transect lines, and each survey was 

designed so that there was overlap of the survey swaths to 

attempt to ensure complete coverage of the channel bed and 

minimize sonic “shadows.” Substantial overlap was achieved 

for many of the surveyed swaths, except in shallow areas 

near the channel banks or spur dikes and near debris rafts. 

The presence of debris rafts made surveying difficult in some 

areas. Areas near the bridge piers and along the banks also 

were surveyed in an upstream direction with the MBES head 

tilted at either 30 degrees to port or starboard to increase 

the acquisition of bathymetric data in the shallow areas, and 

higher on the banks and the sides of the piers. To limit damage 

to the MBES head, most of the very shallow areas (less than 

about 6 ft of water depth) were not surveyed.

After completing the bathymetric survey with the MBMS 

at a given site, the velocity data were obtained with the ADCP 

on seven lateral sections across the channel within the study 

area. The position and speed of the boat was determined using 

a differential GNSS receiver mounted on a pole directly above 

the ADCP. The bottom-track reference method for determining 

boat speed was anticipated to be unusable because of moving 

channel-bed material, so the boat velocity was determined 

using the GNSS essential fix (GGA) National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA)–0183 sentence (National Marine 

Electronics Association, 2002) from the differential GNSS 

receiver. The distance between the velocity section lines generally was about 260 ft. Three sections were upstream and four 

sections were downstream from the bridge in question. Each 

section line was traversed in each direction across the river. 

The reported velocity values are the average from the two traverses of a given section line, using averaging algorithms from 

the Velocity Mapping Toolbox (VMT; Parsons and others, 

2013). Discharge for a site was computed as the average of the 

discharges for each of the 14 velocity transects (2 transects per 

section line).

Survey Quality-Assurance/Quality-Control 

Measures

A quality-assurance plan has been established for 

discharge measurements using ADCPs that includes several 

instrument diagnostic checks and calibrations. These standard 

operating procedures were followed when acquiring the velocity profile data for these surveys, including a moving-bed test. 

For a detailed discussion of these procedures, see Mueller and 

others (2013).

For the MBMS, the principal quality-assurance measures 

were assessed in real time during the survey. The MBMS 

operator continuously assessed the quality of the collected data 

during the survey by making visual observations of acrosstrack swaths (such as convex, concave, or skewed bed returns 

in flat, smooth bottoms), noting data quality flags and alarms 

from the MBES and the INS, and noting comparisons between 

adjacent overlapping swaths. In addition to the real-time 

quality-assurance assessments during the survey, beam angle 

checks and a suite of patch tests were executed to ensure quality data were acquired from the MBMS. Additional testing and 

comparison of data using different surveying patterns and collected on different days was completed at Longview Lake in 

Kansas City (fig. 1) as an additional quality-assurance measure 

and is included in this report as appendix 1.

Beam Angle Check

A beam angle check is used to determine the accuracy of 

the depth readings obtained by the outer beams (greater than 

25 degrees from nadir [vertical]) of the MBES (U.S. Army 

Corps of Engineers, 2013), which may change with time as a 

result of inaccurate sound velocities, physical configuration 

changes, and overall depth being surveyed. The HYPACK®/

HYSWEEP® software has a utility that develops a statistical assessment of the quality of the outer beams compared 

to a reference surface (HYPACK, Inc., 2015). On June 1, 

2015, a reference surface was created for a part of Longview 

Lake in Kansas City (fig. 1), and check lines were run across 

the reference surface. Included with the measurement was 

a sound-velocity profile cast to document and quantify any 

stratification in the water column near the reference surface. 

The results of this beam angle check (table 2) were within 

the recommended performance standards used by the U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers for hydrographic surveys for all the 

representative angles (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 2013), 

permitting the use of the full sonar swath.

Ideally, the average depth of the reference surface used 

in the beam angle check would be equal to or greater than 

the depth in the area being surveyed. The depth of the Missouri River in each study reach generally was impossible to 

estimate before each survey because of the dynamic nature 

of the channel bed and flow conditions; however, the average 

depth of the reference surface (about 72 ft) was expected to 

be substantially greater than the average depth observed in the 

2015 surveys, because the average depths observed during the 

2011 flood surveys in the Kansas City area were less than 40 ft 

(the average depth is the difference between the average water 

surface elevation and average channel bed elevation in 

table 5, Huizinga [2012]). As described in the “Surveying 

Methods” section earlier in this report, areas with depths 

greater than the average depths generally had substantial 

overlap of the surveyed swath with adjacent swaths. Data from 

the outer beams in these areas were able to be either verified 

or removed to mitigate any detrimental effects caused by beam 

angle inaccuracies.
8 Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys at Highway Bridges Crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri

Patch Tests

Patch tests are a series of dynamic calibration tests that 

are used to check for subtle variations in the orientation and 

timing of the MBES with respect to the INS and real-world 

coordinates. The patch tests are used to determine timing 

offsets caused by latency between the MBES and the INS, and 

angular offsets to roll, pitch, and yaw caused by the alignment of the transducer head (fig. 4). These offsets have been 

observed to be essentially constant for a given survey, barring 

an event that causes the mount to change such as striking a 

floating or submerged object (Huizinga, 2010, 2011, 2012, 

2014, 2015). The offsets determined in the patch test are 

applied when processing the data collected during a given 

survey.

Patch tests were completed before and after the 2015 

surveys (table 3) at Longview Lake in Kansas City (fig. 1). On 

the last day of surveying, the MBES was temporarily snagged 

in a sand bar downstream from pier 8 at structure A0767 on 

Interstate 435, with a resultant change of the pitch angle and 

a slight change (0.1 degrees) in the tilted roll angles from the 

beginning to the end of the surveys (table 3). There were no 

other strikes of floating debris or submerged objects during the 

surveys.

For this study, there was no measured timing offset 

(table 3; Δt=0, fig. 4), which is consistent with latency test 

results for this boat and similar equipment configuration used 

in other surveys (Huizinga, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 

2015; Huizinga and others, 2010). The measured angular 

offset for pitch changed from -0.30 degrees to -0.70 degrees 

between the first and second patch tests (table 3). The measured angular offset for roll with the transducer head untilted 

(a head tilt of “none” in table 3) and the yaw for all head-tilt 

configurations remained constant at -2.45 degrees and 

2.25 degrees, respectively, for both patch tests (table 3). 

Unexpectedly, the offset values for roll with the transducer 

head tilted 30 degrees to port and starboard were slightly different between the first and second patch tests, changing by

 -0.10 degrees for the starboard tilt and +0.10 degrees for the 

port tilt settings (table 3). All changes in the offsets likely are 

the result of snagging the MBES in the sandbar at structure 

A0767 on Interstate 435. It was noted in Huizinga (2010) that 

a sensitivity analysis of the four offsets implied that the ultimate position of surveyed points in three-dimensional space 

was least sensitive to the angular offset for yaw, whereas it 

was most sensitive to the angular offset for roll. It is presumed 

that the observed changes in roll for the two head-tilt configurations are a secondary effect of the change in pitch between 

the patch tests.

The bathymetric data were processed to apply the offsets 

determined from the patch tests, and to remove data spikes and 

other spurious points in the multibeam swaths through the use 

Table 2. Results of a beam angle check from two check lines 

over a reference surface at Longview Lake near Kansas City, 

Missouri, on June 1, 2015.

[<, less than; --, no data]

Beam 

angle limit

(degrees)

Maximum 

outlier

(foot)

Mean 

difference

(foot)

Standard 

deviation

(foot)

95-percent 

confidence

(foot)

0 0.56 -0.13 0.13 0.26

5 0.59 -0.13 0.13 0.26

10 0.59 -0.07 0.13 0.23

15 0.56 -0.03 0.13 0.26

20 0.62 0.03 0.13 0.26

25 0.69 0.03 0.13 0.23

30 0.82 0.07 0.13 0.23

35 0.59 0.03 0.10 0.23

40 0.82 0.03 0.13 0.23

45 0.72 0.00 0.10 0.23

50 0.85 0.00 0.10 0.20

55 0.39 0.03 0.10 0.20

60 0.59 0.07 0.07 0.16

Performance standardsa

-- 1.00 <0.20 -- <0.80

-- Met Met -- Met

a

Performance standard check values are from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (2013), table 3–1.

Table 3. Patch test results at Longview Lake from surveying on the Missouri River near Kansas 

City, Missouri.

Date of test

Timing 

offset

(second)

Angular 

offset for roll 

(degree)

Angular offset for pitch

(degree)

Angular offset 

for yaw

(degree)

Head tilt

06/01/15 0 -2.45 -0.30 2.25 none.

06/05/15 0 -2.45 -0.70 2.25 none.

06/01/15 0 -32.35 -0.30 2.25 30 degrees starboard.

06/05/15 0 -32.45 -0.70 2.25 30 degrees starboard.

06/01/15 0 27.65 -0.30 2.25 30 degrees port.

06/05/15 0 27.75 -0.70 2.25 30 degrees port.
Introduction 9

of automatic filters and manual editing. The offsets from the 

first patch test were applied to data collected before the sand 

bar strike at structure A0767 on Interstate 435, and the offsets 

from the second patch test were applied to all data collected 

after the sand bar strike. The bathymetric data were then 

projected to a three-dimensional grid at a resolution of 

1.64 ft using the Combined Uncertainty Bathymetric Estimator 

(CUBE) method (Calder and Mayer, 2003), as implemented in 

the HYPACK®/HYSWEEP® software (HYPACK, Inc., 2015) 

and used to generate a gridded raster surface of the channel 

bed near each bridge (hereinafter referred to as a “bathymetric 

surface”) using ArcGIS. The bathymetric surface for each site 

from the 2015 survey was compared to similar bathymetric 

surfaces created from previous surveys at a bridge by taking 

the difference between the 2015 raster surface and the previous survey raster surface. Statistics of the elevations for each 

bathymetric surface were determined, as were statistics of 

the differences between the surfaces. Sediment volumes for 

cut (scour) and fill (deposition) between the 2015 survey and 

previous surveys in 2010 and 2011also were determined from 

differences in the raster surfaces using ArcGIS.

Uncertainty Estimation

Similar to the previous studies of bathymetry in Missouri 

(Huizinga, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015), uncertainty 

in the surveys was estimated by computing the total propagated uncertainty (TPU) for each survey-grid cell in the bathymetric surface of each survey area, using the CUBE method 

(Calder and Mayer, 2003). The CUBE method allows all 

random system component uncertainties and resolution effects 

to be combined and propagated through the data processing 

steps, which provides a robust estimate of the spatial distribution of possible uncertainty within the survey area (Czuba 

and others, 2011); thus, the TPU of a point is a measure of 

the accuracy to be expected for such a point when all relevant 

error sources are taken into account (Czuba and others, 2011). 

Statistics of TPU for each of the survey areas are shown in 

table 4, and an example of the spatial distribution of TPU typically observed in the survey data is shown in figure 5 for the 

bathymetric data at structure A0767 on Interstate 435.

The largest TPU in this group of surveys was about 

11.97 ft (table 4); however, as noted in previous studies, TPU 

values of this magnitude typically happened near high-relief 

A. Latency B. Roll ∆t

∆t

α

α

α

β

β

β δ

δ

δ

C. Pitch D. Yaw

Timing offset for latency between the multibeam echosounder and Global Navigation

 Satellite System components of the navigation and motion-sensing system

Angular offset for roll of the transducer head along the longitudinal axis of the boat

Angular offset for pitch of the transducer head along the lateral axis of the boat

Angular offset for yaw of the transducer head about the vertical axis

Actual bottom Measured bottom

EXPLANATION

Figure 4. Generalized effects on data from a multibeam echosounder. A, timing offset for latency.B, angular offset for 

roll. C, angular offset for pitch. D, angular offset for yaw.
10 Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys at Highway Bridges Crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri

features, such as the front or side of a pier footing (fig. 5). 

Most of the TPU values (more than 91 percent) were less than 

1.00 ft (table 4). The TPU values were larger near moderaterelief features (banks, spur dikes, rock riprap and outcrops, 

and scour holes near piers; fig. 5). Occasionally, the TPU 

values also were larger (greater than 1.00 ft) in the outermost 

beam extents of the multibeam swath in the overlap with an 

adjacent swath, particularly when the MBES head was tilted 

for the survey lines along the banks or near the piers (fig. 5). 

Overlapping adjacent swaths in the channel thalweg (the line 

of maximum depth in the channel) also can display larger TPU 

values because substantial bed movement can happen between 

survey passes (fig. 5). Nearly two-thirds (66 percent or more) 

of the channel bed at the sites had TPU values of 0.50 ft or 

less (table 4). The tops of bridge substructural elements (pier 

footings and seal courses) typically had TPU values of 0.50 ft 

or less.

The survey at structure A0767 on Interstate 435 had the 

highest mean value of TPU, as well as generally the lowest 

percentage of bathymetry points that were less than the various TPU value cutoffs (table 4). There were no substantial 

impediments to flow or surveying at this site other than a 

debris raft at pier 8 with a sand bar downstream, and the survey was obtained with relatively smooth longitudinal swathes 

(fig. 5), which was the case at nearly all the sites surveyed 

in this study. The primary anomaly at this site was along the 

upstream left bank, where an apparent error in the position 

data between adjacent swaths caused a bulge in the bank with 

substantial TPU values (fig. 5). Generally, the magnitude and 

distribution of TPU values observed at this site are representative of those observed at all of the other surveyed sites.

Results of Bathymetric and 

Velocimetric Surveys

The site-specific results for each bridge are discussed 

in the following sections, starting with the upstream-most 

bridge site and progressing downstream. The site-specific 

results are followed by a discussion of general findings that 

are not specific to a particular site. The range of bed elevations 

described as “the channel-bed elevations” for each survey was 

based on statistical analysis of the gridded raster surface of the 

bathymetry data at each site, and covers the percentile range 

from 5 to 95 percent of the data. Because the surveys generally 

were limited to the active channel from bank to bank excluding overbank areas, this percentile range generally covered 

the channel bed but excluded the banks and localized high or 

low spots, such as spur dikes or scour holes near piers. All 

elevation data were referenced to the North American Vertical 

Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88).

For consistency with earlier studies, dune sizes are 

described in general terms for each of the bridge sites using 

the categories set by Huizinga (2012) for the discussion of 

bathymetry during the 2011 flood. In this report, small dunes 

and ripples are those that are less than 5 ft high from crest to 

trough, medium dunes are those that are 5 to 10 ft high, large 

dunes are those that are 10 to 15 ft high, and very large dunes 

are those that are 15 ft or more in height.

Previous bathymetric surveys have happened at all of 

the bridge sites in this study (Huizinga, 2010, 2012); furthermore, most of the sites had a Level II bridge scour assessment 

(Lagasse and others, 1991; Huizinga and Rydlund, 2004). A 

map showing the difference in channel-bed elevation for the 

Site 

number

(fig. 1)

MoDOT 

structure 

number

Maximum 

value of 

uncertainty 

(ft)

Mean value 

of uncertainty (ft)

Median 

value of 

uncertainty 

(ft)

Standard 

deviation of 

uncertainty 

(ft)

Percent of bathymetry points with uncertainty value 

less than

2.00 ft 1.00 ft 0.50 ft 0.25 ft

6 A1800 9.25 0.47 0.36 0.36 99.2 93.4 68.6 26.5

8 A4649 10.99 0.47 0.36 0.37 99.1 93.5 68.4 24.8

9 A4060 11.97 0.46 0.36 0.38 99.0 93.7 69.1 27.2

10 A7650 9.97 0.43 0.36 0.34 99.3 94.9 71.8 30.1

11 A5817 6.59 0.36 0.30 0.29 99.7 96.6 80.7 41.4

12 A0767 9.65 0.50 0.36 0.43 98.3 91.4 66.0 25.9

13 A4757/

L0568

10.17 0.45 0.33 0.39 99.2 91.3 71.2 34.7

Table 4. Total propagated uncertainty results for bathymetric data at a 1.64-foot grid spacing from surveys on the Missouri River near 

Kansas City, Missouri, June 2–4, 2015.

[MoDOT, Missouri Department of Transportation; ft, foot]
94°30'00"94°29'55"94°29'50"94°29'45"94°29'40"

39°09'10"

39°09'05"

FLOW

Base from National Agriculture Imagery Program, 2014Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 15 NorthHorizontal coordinate information referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)Vertical coordinate information referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

0 50 100 150 200 250 FEET0 25 50 75 METERS

Jun

119,000 cubic feet per 

721.6 feet above N

Survey dateDischargeAverage water-surface e

Pier 7

Bulges resulting from erroneous position data during collection along bank during 2015 survey Thalweg

Sand bar

Stone revetment

Stone revetment

Bedrock

outcrop

Spur dike

Spur dike

Pier 8 Debris

raft

Unidentified 

submerged object

Figure 5. Total propagated uncertainty of bathymetric data from the Missouri River channel near structure A0767 on Interstate 435 in Kansa
12 Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys at Highway Bridges Crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri

area common to each surveys is included for each site, and 

data from previous surveys are included in the cross-section 

plot for that bridge. The difference maps were created by 

taking the difference between the 2015 raster surface and a 

previous survey raster surface at a given bridge, and summary 

statistics (maximum, minimum, mean) of the difference rasters 

were determined. The surveys are broadly compared based 

on their timing and the discharge at the time of the survey. If 

a site was subject to a Level II assessment, the cross section 

of the channel on the downstream side of the bridge obtained 

during the Level II assessment is included on the cross-section 

plot for that bridge.

While the configuration of the channel bed and the 

underlying sediment transport conditions at a given site are 

associated with an instantaneous discharge in the discussions 

that follow, a given bathymetric surface actually is a reflection 

of more than those instantaneous transport conditions. A wide 

variety of factors influence the channel-bed configuration of 

a reach for a given discharge (Gilbert, 1914), including flow 

velocities and velocity distribution, the size and timing of previous flood rises, whether or not the stage currently is rising or 

falling, and other local hydraulic conditions; furthermore, the 

channel-bed configuration at a site is affected by upstream and 

local sediment conditions and contributions, as well as water 

temperature and other seasonal variations. Because of the 

myriad number and interactions of factors affecting sediment 

transport conditions and the resultant bed configuration, it 

would be simplistic to assume that the configuration and size 

of bed forms observed during the current (2015) surveys near 

Kansas City are dependent only upon the instantaneous discharge at a given site. Although it is beyond the scope of the 

current (2015) study to examine all of the antecedent conditions that created the observed channel-bed configuration, 

the comparisons with previous surveys under different flow 

conditions nevertheless contribute to understanding the many 

complexities of sediment transport.

As in recent previous studies (Huizinga, 2012, 2013, 

2014, 2015), when discussing the vertically averaged velocity 

values obtained during the surveys in the sections that follow, 

neighboring vectors having random variations in direction and 

magnitude were taken as an indication of nonuniform flow 

in the section resulting from shear and wake vortices. Conversely, neighboring vectors having gradual and systematic 

variations were taken as an indication of uniform flow in the 

section. The velocity data for each section are an average of 

two velocity transects, spatially averaged to the section line 

using algorithms in Velocity Mapping Toolbox (Parsons and 

others, 2013).

Shaded TIN images of the channel and side of pier were 

prepared for each surveyed pier. These visualizations are 

shown in appendix figures 2–1 to 2–7.
Results of Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys 13

Structure A1800 on Interstate 635

Structure A1800 (site 6) on Interstate 635 crosses the 

Missouri River at river mile (RM) 374.1, on the northwestern 

side of Kansas City (fig. 1). The site was surveyed on June 2, 

2015, and the average water-surface elevation of the river in 

the survey area, determined by the RTK GNSS tide solution, 

was 730.4 ft (table 5). Discharge on the Missouri River was 

about 73,000 ft3

/s during the survey (table 5).

The survey area was about 1,640 ft long and about 755 ft 

wide, extending across the active channel from bank to bank 

(fig. 6). The upstream end of the survey area was about 770 

ft upstream from the centerline of structure A1800 (fig. 6). 

The channel-bed elevations ranged from about 701 to 722 ft 

for most of the surveyed area (5 to 95 percentile range of the 

bathymetric data; table 5; fig. 7). A thalweg along the outside 

of the channel bend on the right (south) bank was about 15 ft 

deeper than the channel bed on the inside of the bend on the 

left (north) bank (fig. 6). Several medium to large dune features were detected in the middle of the channel, and the left 

(north) side and thalweg on the right (south) side were covered 

with numerous small dunes and ripples (fig. 6). As in previous 

surveys, a rock outcrop and stone revetment were present on 

the right (south) bank throughout the reach (fig. 6).

The scour hole near main channel pier 3 had a minimum 

channel-bed elevation of about 695 ft (table 6), about 15 ft 

below the average channel bed immediately upstream from the 

pier (fig. 6), and about 7 ft below the elevation of the bottom 

of the pier seal course of 702.28 ft (fig. 8; table 6). Information 

from bridge plans indicates that pier 3 is founded on shafts 

drilled 20 ft into bedrock, with about 43 ft of bed material 

between the bottom of the scour hole and bedrock at the 

upstream face of pier 3 (fig. 8; table 6).

The difference between the survey on June 2, 2015, and 

the previous flood survey on July 16, 2011 (fig. 9), indicates 

substantial bed variation from 2011 to 2015, particularly near 

the thalweg where large dune features were present in the 2011 

survey (Huizinga, 2012). There seemed to be an area of net 

scour on the left (north) side in the downstream reach in 2015, 

with a corresponding area of substantial deposition on the 

right side in the troughs of the dunes detected in the 2011 survey (fig. 9). The average difference between the bathymetric 

surfaces (the statistical mean value of the gridded raster surface [fig. 9] created from the difference between the 2015 and 

Table 5. Bridge and survey information, and selected channel-bed elevations from surveys on the Missouri River near Kansas City, 

Missouri, June 2–4, 2015.

[MoDOT, Missouri Department of Transportation; ADCP, acoustic Doppler current profiler; ft3/s, cubic foot per second; ft, foot; IS, Interstate highway; 

US, U.S. highway; MO, State highway; all elevations are in feet above the North American Vertical Datum of 1988]

Site 

number 

(fig. 1)

MoDOT 

structure 

number

Survey 

date Route River 

mile

Discharge 

from ADCP 

measurementsa

(ft3/s)

Average water-surface 

elevation in 

vicinity of 

bridge

(ft)

Average 

channel bed 

elevationb

(ft)

Approximate elevation of 

the indicated percentile of 

the bathymetric data

Approximate 

minimum 

channel 

elevationc

(ft)

5th 

percentile 

(ft)

95th 

percentile

(ft)

6 A1800 06/02/15 IS 635 374.1 73,000 730.4 709.3 700.6 722.3 695

8 A4649 06/02/15 US 169 366.2 94,500 724.6 703.5 692.0 715.2 679

9 A4060 06/03/15 MO 9 365.5 93,900 723.7 700.9 695.7 710.2 679

10 A7650 06/03/15 IS 35 364.7 97,100 723.1 699.1 691.8 708.9 676

11 A5817 06/03/15 MO 269 362.3 103,000 721.9 701.5 689.8 709.7 679

12 A0767 06/04/15 IS 435 360.3 119,000 721.6 696.5 686.9 709.6 675

13 A4757/

L0568

06/04/15 MO 291 352.7 112,000 715.9 690.0 681.1 705.7 668

a

The average discharge obtained while making the various velocity transects. The reported value is the discharges computed using Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) essential fix GGA data string as the reference, as described in the “Surveying Methods” section of the text.

b

The statistical average of the surveyed channel-bed elevations.

c

The minimum channel-bed elevation, not necessarily in any scour holes near the bridge.

Structure A1800 on Interstate 635 crosses the Missouri River at 

river mile 374.1, on the northwestern side of Kansas City.
14 Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys at Highway Bridges Crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri

94°39'10"

94°39'05"

94°39'00"

94°38'55"

94°38'50"

39°9'20"

39°9'15"

39°9'10"

94°39'15"

FLOW

Base from National Agriculture Imagery Program, 2014

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 15 North

Horizontal coordinate information referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)

Vertical coordinate information referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

0 50 100 150 200 250 FEET

0 25 50 75 METERS

June 2, 2015

73,000 cubic feet per second

730.4 feet above NAVD 88

Survey date

Discharge

Average water-surface elevation

Channel-bed elevation,

 in feet above NAVD 88

EXPLANATION

735

730

725

720

715

710

705

700

695

690

685

$

Cross section shown

in figure 8

A

A'

Longitudinal section

 shown in figure 51

B B'

Pier 3

Pier 2

Rock outcrop

Stone revetment

Figure 6. Bathymetric survey of the Missouri River channel near structure A1800 on Interstate 635 near Kansas City, Missouri.
Results of Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys 15

2011 gridded raster bathymetric surfaces) was -0.35 ft (table 

7), indicating overall minor channel degradation between the 

2011 and 2015 surveys. The net volume of cut in the reach 

from 2011 to 2015 was about 82,100 cubic yards (yd3), and the 

net volume of fill was about 66,600 yd3, resulting in a net loss 

of about 15,500 yd3 of sediment between 2011 and 2015. The 

cross sections from the two surveys along the upstream face 

of the bridge are not substantially different from one another 

(fig. 8); however, the frequency distribution of bed elevations 

was substantially narrower in 2015 than in 2011, with a higher 

minimum channel-bed elevation (fig. 7). The scour hole near 

pier 3 was slightly narrower in 2015 than in 2011 (fig. 8), as 

evidenced by the overall pattern of deposition in a horseshoe 

shape around the upstream face of the pier (fig. 9). The rock 

outcrop on the upstream right (south) bank showed no signs 

of substantial change except for a small area of deposition 

immediately upstream from the bridge (fig. 9). Although rock 

ultimately is an erodible material, its rate of erosion is substantially slower than that of sand and silt (Richardson and Davis, 

2001). The stone revetment on the downstream right (south) 

bank also showed no signs of substantial change (fig. 9). 

Substantial deposition or scour apparent at the faces of the pier 

results from minor horizontal positional variances between the 

surveys (see “Uncertainty Estimation” section).

The difference between the survey on June 2, 2015, and 

the previous nonflood survey on March 15, 2010 (fig. 10), 

indicates moderate bed variation from 2010 to 2015. There 

seems to be an area of net scour on the left (north) side of the 

channel throughout the reach in 2015, with a corresponding 

area of net deposition in the thalweg on the right (south) side, 

in a horseshoe shape around the pier and in the troughs of 

the dunes detected in the 2010 survey (fig. 10). The average 

difference between the bathymetric surfaces was -1.53 ft (table 

7), indicating moderate channel degradation between the 2010 

and 2015 surveys. The net volume of cut in the reach from 

2010 to 2015 was about 71,200 yd3, and the net volume of 

fill was about 29,900 yd3, resulting in a net loss of about 

41,300 yd3 of sediment between 2010 and 2015. The cross 

sections from the 2010 and 2015 surveys are not substantially 

different from one another (fig. 8); however, the frequency distribution of bed elevations was substantially narrower in 2015 

than in 2010, with a higher minimum channel-bed elevation 

and a greater percentage of survey-grid cells at a lower elevation than 2010 (fig. 7). The scour hole near pier 3 was substantially narrower in 2015 than in 2010 (fig. 8), as evidenced 

by the overall pattern of deposition in a horseshoe shape 

around the pier (fig. 10). The rock outcrop on the upstream 

right (south) bank showed no signs of change, as would be 

expected (fig. 10). Areas of localized scour that were apparent 

in the 2011 survey on the stone revetment of the downstream 

right (south) bank and theorized as likely being from localized 

slumping (Huizinga, 2012) were confirmed in the 2015 survey 

(fig. 10). As with all difference maps presented in this report, 

substantial deposition or scour apparent at the faces of the pier 

results from minor horizontal positional variances between the 

surveys (see “Uncertainty Estimation” section).

The vertically averaged velocity vectors indicate mostly 

uniform flow throughout the reach, with a maximum velocity 

of 8 feet per second (ft/s) in the channel thalweg and a minimum of 2 ft/s along the inside of the bend on the left (north) 

bank (fig. 11). A minor decrease in velocity was observed near 

pier 3, likely exacerbated by the pier being skewed to flow 

(fig. 11). Minor turbulence was present in all of the sections 

(fig. 11).

Figure 7. Frequency distribution of bed elevations for bathymetric survey-grid cells on the Missouri River near 

structure A1800 on Interstate 635 near Kansas City, Missouri, on June 2, 2015, compared to previous surveys. Percent of total survey-grid cells Cumulative percent of survey-grid cells lower than indicated elevation

Elevation, in feet above North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

685 690 695 700 705 710 715 720 725 730 735 740

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

1.2

1.4

1.6

1.8

EXPLANATION

Frequency distribution

[ft3/s, cubic foot per second]

2015 survey data;

 73,000 ft3/s

2011 survey data;

 213,000 ft3/s

2010 survey data;

 103,000 ft3/s

Cumulative percent

2015 survey data;

 73,000 ft3/s

2011 survey data;

 213,000 ft3/s

2010 survey data;

 103,000 ft3/s
Table 6. Results near piers from surveys on the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri, June 2–4, 2015. [MoDOT, Missouri Department of Transportation; ft, foot; --, not known/applicable; all elevations are in feet above the North American Vertical Datum of 1988] Site number (fig. 1) MoDOT structure number MoDOT pier number Foundation information Approximate minimum elevation in scour hole near piera (ft) Approximate elevation of scour hole at upstream pier face (ft) Approximate elevation of bedrock near pier (ft) Approximate distance be- tween bottom of scour hole and bedrock (ft) 

st

Type Width (ft) Penetration into bedrock (ft) Seal course or pile cap bottom el- evation (ft) 6 A1800 3 Drilled shaft 28 20 702.28 694.7 695 652 43 

8 A4649 2 Caisson 24 1 -- 680.1 681 670 10 9 A4060 5 Drilled shaft 28 20 696.26 693.2 693 667 26 

6 Drilled shaft 34 20 696.26 688.4 b688 670 18 

10 A7650 Pylon Drilled shaft 46 32 699.50 680.9 686 647 34 

11 A5817 2 Drilled shaft 24 20 687.26 693.2 693 677 16 

3 Drilled shaft 24 20 689.26 701.4 701 657 44 

12 A0767 7 Drilled shaft 32 20 689.26 678.6 679 660 19 

8 Drilled shaft 28 20 689.26 694.0 (c) 648 46 

13 A4757 2C Drilled shaft 35 20 666.26 667.8 668 619 49 

L0568 5 Caisson 20 2 -- 673.9 b674 618 56 

aThe point of lowest elevation in the scour hole near the bridge pier, not necessarily at the upstream pier face. bScour hole at this pier is substantially affected by upstream pier. cUnable to obtain data because of accumulated debris.
Pier 3

Pier 4

Cap

Footing

Seal course

Drilled shafts

Column

Cap

Footing

Seal course

Drilled shafts

Column

550 500 650 700 750 800 850 900 950 1,000 1,050 1,100 1,150 1,200 1,250 

Distance from fill face of left (north) abutment, in feet

675700625600650800825850750725775

Elevation, in feet above North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

Part of bridge shown above

Average water surface during 2011 survey (745.3 feet above NAVD 88)Average water surface during 2010 survey (734.8 feet above NAVD 88) Average water surface during 2015 survey (730.4 feet above NAVD 88) 

Channel bed from 2015 multibeam surveyChannel bed from 2011 multibeam surveyChannel bed from 2010 multibeam survey

Approximate ground line from 1965 bridge plans

Approximate top of bedrock (from core logs)

Survey is along cross-section line shown in figu

A 

Substructural and superstr

 and top of bedro

 Department o

Figure 8. Key features, substructural and superstructural details, and surveyed channel bed of structure A1800 on Interstate 635 crossing the MKansas City, Missouri.
Figure 9. Difference between surfaces created from bathymetric surveys of the Missouri River channel near structure A1800 on Interstate 63Missouri, on June 2, 2015, and July 16, 2011. 39°9'20" 39°9'15" 94°39'15" 39°9'10" 94°39'10" 94°39'05" 94°39'00" 94°38'55" 

FLOW Base from National Agriculture Imagery Program, 2014 Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 15 North Horizontal coordinate information referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83) Vertical coordinate information referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88) 0 

0 

$ EXPLANATION Change in channel-bed elevation, in feet -45 -30 -20 -15 -10 -7 -5 -3 -1 1 3 5 7 10 15 20 30 SCOUR DEPOSITION Cross section shown in figure 8 A A' Pier 3 Pier 2 Stone revetment Rock outcrop
Table 7. Summary information and bathymetric surface difference statistics from surveys on the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri, from Junsurveys.[MoDOT, Missouri Department of Transportation; ft3/s, cubic foot per second; ft2, square foot; ft; A, Huizinga (2010); B, Huizinga (2012); foot; all elevations are in feet above tDatum of 1988]

Site 

number 

(fig. 1)

MoDOT 

structure 

number

Previous survey Difference between 2015 survey and previous survey Statistics of differences betwee

previous survey surface

Source 

of data Date Discharge (ft3/s) Surveyed area (x106 ft2)

Average 

watersurface 

elevation

(ft)

Discharge

(ft3/s)

Surveyed 

area

(x106 ft2)

Average 

watersurface 

elevation

(ft)

Minimuma,b

(ft)

Maximuma,b

(ft)

Mean

(ft)

6 A1800 A 03/15/10 d103,000 1.134 734.8 -30,000 0.093 -4.4 -19.3 12.7 -1.53 

B 07/16/11 213,000 1.209 745.3 -140,000 0.019 -15.0 -19.4 19.2 -0.35 

8 A4649 A 03/16/10 127,000 1.485 727.9 -32,500 0.039 -3.3 -20.8 41.2 1.11 

B 07/17/11 217,000 1.471 737.6 -122,500 0.053 -13.1 -34.3 31.9 -3.82 

9 A4060 A 03/16/10 126,000 1.492 727.1 -32,100 -0.103 -3.4 -32.9 31.9 0.75 

B 07/17/11 217,000 1.434 737.1 -123,100 -0.045 -13.4 -32.7 40.2 -1.25 

10 A7650 B 07/17/11 217,000 1.372 736.4 -119,900 -0.054 -13.3 -35.3 25.8 1.84 

11 A5817 A 03/17/10 124,000 1.666 724.1 -21,000 -0.093 -2.2 -15.1 17.3 0.28 

B 07/18/11 212,000 1.609 733.7 -109,000 -0.037 -11.8 -18.6 13.5 -2.99 

12 A0767 A 03/17/10 123,000 1.540 722.5 -4,000 -0.076 -0.9 -25.1 36.2 -0.13 

B 07/18/11 212,000 1.540 732.3 -93,000 -0.076 -10.7 -24.3 40.4 1.59 

13 A4757/

L0568

A 03/18/10 120,000 1.455 717.2 -8,000 -0.054 -1.3 -24.0 23.4 -0.92 B 07/19/11 212,000 1.359 726.7 -100,000 0.042 -10.9 -21.6 24.5 1.33 

aThe maximum or minimum value of change likely is near a vertical pier face and affected by minor position variances.bA positive value represents deposition, a negative value represents scour.cThe maximum difference near the upstream pier face was taken near the location of the “approximate elevation of scour hole at upstream pier face” in table 6.dThis discharge is the value reported for the streamgage at St. Joseph, Missouri, for March 14, 2010, and does not match the value reported in Huizinga (2010). The value re

March 15, 2010, is for the streamgage at Kansas City, and includes inflow from the Kansas River and therefore would be higher than the discharge measured at this site upstreavalue for the previous day at the St. Joseph streamgage was used to account for travel time between St. Joseph and Kansas City.
94°39'10" 94°39'05" 94°39'00" 94°38'55" 

39°9'20" 39°9'15" 94°39'15" 39°9'10" FLOW Base from National Agriculture Imagery Program, 2014 Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 15 North Horizontal coordinate information referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83) Vertical coordinate information referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88) 0 

0 

$ EXPLANATION Change in channel-bed elevation, in feet -45 -30 -20 -15 -10 -7 -5 -3 -1 1 3 5 7 10 15 20 30 SCOUR DEPOSITION Cross section shown in figure 8 A A' Pier 3 Rock outcrop Stone revetment Pier 2 Figure 10. Difference between surfaces created from bathymetric surveys of the Missouri River channel near structure A1800 on Interstate 

Missouri, on June 2, 2015, and March 15, 2010.
Results of Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys 21

94°39'10"

94°39'05"

94°39'00"

94°38'55"

94°38'50"

39°9'20"

39°9'15"

94°39'15"

39°9'10"

FLOW

Base from National Agriculture Imagery Program, 2014

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 15 North

Horizontal coordinate information referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)

Vertical coordinate information referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

0 50 100 150 200 250 FEET

0 25 50 75 METERS

June 2, 2015

73,000 cubic feet per second

730.4 feet above NAVD 88

Survey date

Discharge

Average water-surface elevation

Channel-bed elevation,

 in feet above NAVD 88

EXPLANATION

735

730

725

720

715

710

705

700

695

690

685

$

0−1

1−2

2−3

3−4

4−5

5−6

6−7

7−8

8−9

9−10

10−11

11−12

Vertically averaged velocity, 

 in feet per second

Cross section shown

in figure 8

A

A'

Pier 3

Stone revetment

Rock outcrop

Pier 2

Figure 11. Bathymetry and vertically averaged velocities of the Missouri River channel near structure A1800 on Interstate 635 near Kansas City, Missouri.
22 Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys at Highway Bridges Crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri

Structure A4649 on U.S. Highway 169

Structure A4649 (site 8) on U.S. Highway 169 crosses the 

Missouri River at RM 366.2, immediately north of downtown 

Kansas City, Mo. (fig. 1). The site was surveyed on June 2, 

2015, and the average water-surface elevation of the river in 

the survey area, determined by the RTK GPS tide solution, 

was 724.6 ft (table 5). Flow on the Missouri River was about 

94,500 ft3/s during the survey (table 5).

The survey area was about 1,660 ft long and about 905 ft 

wide, extending from bank to bank in the main channel 

(fig. 12). The upstream end of the survey area was about 

720 ft upstream from the centerline of structure A4649 at pier 

2 (fig. 12). The channel-bed elevations ranged from about 

692 to 715 ft for most of the surveyed area (5 to 95 percentile 

range of the bathymetric data; table 5; fig. 13), except near 

pier 2 of structure A4649, the various railroad bridge piers, 

and the concrete nose upstream from the railroad bridge turntable pier (fig. 12). A deep thalweg on the right (south) 

bank on the upstream end of the surveyed area was about 

20 ft deeper than the channel bed in the middle of the channel 

(fig. 12). The thalweg became shallower and shifted to the left 

at the bridges and downstream (fig. 12). Remnants of piers 

from an old bridge were evident downstream from the existing 

railroad bridge (fig. 12). Numerous medium and small dunes 

and ripples were detected throughout the channel, with slightly 

larger features in the channel thalweg upstream from structure 

A4649 and on the left side of the channel downstream from 

the railroad bridge (fig. 12). As in previous surveys, stone 

revetment was present on the right (south) bank throughout the 

reach (fig. 12).

A scour hole near main channel pier 2 (fig. 12) had a minimum channel-bed elevation of about 680 ft (table 6), about 

23 ft below the average channel bed immediately upstream 

from the pier (table 6). As in previous surveys at this site 

(Huizinga, 2010, 2012), the scour hole extended farther 

around the right side of the pier, with a submerged remnant of 

a structure near the left downstream side of the pier (figs. 12 

and 2–2), presumably a nose for the railroad bridge downstream similar to the concrete nose upstream from the railroad 

bridge turntable pier. Also, as in the previous surveys at this 

site, the remnants of the old railroad bridge piers were clearly 

defined, as were the piles of particulate rock debris around 

them. The remnant downstream from the existing railroad 

bridge turntable pier had a maximum elevation of about 

710 ft, which is about 13 ft above the channel bed immediately 

upstream from it and only about 15 ft below the water surface 

at the time of the 2015 survey. Avoidance of this pier remnant 

might be difficult in flow conditions lower than those on the 

day of the survey. The overall minimum channel-bed elevation 

was 679 ft (table 5), and was observed upstream from the left 

railroad bridge pier. Information from bridge plans indicate 

that main channel pier 2 of structure A4649 is a caisson on 

bedrock, with about 10 ft of bed material between the bottom 

of the scour hole and the bottom of the caissons (fig. 14; 

table 6). 

The difference between the survey on June 2, 2015, 

and the previous survey on July 17, 2011 (fig. 15), indicates 

substantial degradation throughout the reach from the 2011 to 

2015 surveys, with an average difference of -3.82 ft between 

the bathymetric surfaces (table 7). The net volume of cut 

in the reach from 2011 to 2015 was about 219,400 yd3

, and 

the net volume of fill was about 19,200 yd3, resulting in a 

net loss of about 200,200 yd3 of sediment between 2011 and 

2015. The shallow area observed in the upstream left part of 

the channel in the 2011 survey was not observed in the 2015 

survey, and there were areas in the middle of the upstream 

channel and the downstream left where degradation of 10 to 

15 ft was observed (fig. 15). Small areas of deposition were 

observed around the piers and in the trough of the very large 

dune observed in the upstream channel of the 2011 survey 

(fig. 15). Minimal scour or deposition was observed along 

the downstream right bank (fig. 15), indicating this may be a 

scour resistant area of rock; a similar lack of change had been 

observed between 2010 and 2011 in the previous study at this 

site (Huizinga, 2012). The cross sections from the two 

surveys also were substantially different from one another 

(fig. 14), with the 2015 section 10 to 15 ft lower than in 2011. 

The frequency distribution of bed elevations was narrower in 

2015 than in 2011, with a greater percentage of survey-grid 

cells at a lower elevation than 2011 (fig. 13). The scour hole 

near main channel pier 2 in 2015 was narrower and deeper 

than in 2011 (fig. 14), as evidenced by the small area of 

deposition upstream from the pier, and the overall indication 

Structure A4649 on U.S. Highway 169 crosses the Missouri River 

at river mile 366.2, immediately north of downtown Kansas City, 

Missouri.
Results of Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys 23

94°35'15"

94°35'10"

94°35'35"

94°35'30"

94°35'25"

94°35'20"

39°06'40"

39°06'35"

94°35'30"

94°35'35"

39°06'45"

39°06'50"

FLOW

Base from National Agriculture Imagery Program, 2014

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 15 North

Horizontal coordinate information referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)

Vertical coordinate information referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

0 50 100 150 200 250 FEET

0 25 50 75 METERS

June 2, 2015

94,500 cubic feet per second

724.6 feet above NAVD 88

Survey date

Discharge

Average water-surface elevation

Channel-bed elevation,

 in feet above NAVD 88

EXPLANATION

No data

$

730

725

720

715

710

705

700

695

690

685

680

675

Cross section shown

in figure 14

A

A'

Remnant of old

railroad bridge

turntable pier

Remnant of old

railroad bridge pier

Remnant of old

railroad bridge pier

Railroad bridge pier

Railroad bridge pier

A4649

Pier 2

A4649

Pier 1

Railroad 

bridge turntable pier Concrete nose 

for railroad 

bridge turntable pier

Stone revetment

Shallow area

Spur dike

Stone revetment

Longitudinal section

 shown in figure 51

B B'

Figure 12. Bathymetric survey of the Missouri River channel near structure A4649 on U.S. Highway 169 in Kansas City, Missouri.
24 Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys at Highway Bridges Crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri

of scour in a horseshoe shape around the pier (fig. 15); 

however, near the railroad bridge piers and concrete nose, the 

scour holes are about the same between the two surveys 

(fig. 15). Substantial deposition or scour apparent at the faces 

of the piers results from minor horizontal positional variances 

between the surveys (see “Uncertainty Estimation” section).

The difference between the survey on June 2, 2015, and 

the previous nonflood survey on March 16, 2010 (fig. 16) 

indicates moderate deposition throughout the reach from the 

2010 to 2015 surveys, with an average difference of +1.11 ft 

between the bathymetric surfaces (table 7). The net volume of 

cut in the reach from 2010 to 2015 was about 47,000 yd3, and 

the net volume of fill was about 103,100 yd3, resulting in a net 

gain of about 56,100 yd3 of sediment between 2010 and 2015. 

Substantial deposition had been observed between the 2010 

and 2011 surveys (Huizinga, 2012), but ongoing sediment 

transport processes at this site have removed much of the sediment deposits as indicated by the substantial scour observed 

between 2011 and 2015 (fig. 15). Some of the deposition 

remained or returned after the 2011 survey, with small areas 

of scour along the left bank upstream and downstream from 

the bridge (fig. 16). An area of as much as 5 ft of scour was 

observed along the toe of the upstream right bank (fig. 16) and 

may represent an area of slumped revetment. Smaller areas of 

scour are apparent in the same area in the difference between 

the 2011 and 2015 surveys (fig. 15). The cross sections from 

the 2010 and 2015 surveys were similar to one another for 

most of the right side of the channel and part of the left 

(fig. 14); however, the frequency distribution of bed elevations 

was narrower in 2015 than in 2010, with a higher minimum 

channel-bed elevation and a greater percentage of surveygrid cells at a higher elevation than 2010 (fig. 13). The scour 

hole near main channel pier 2 was substantially narrower and 

somewhat shallower in 2015 than in 2010 (fig. 14); however, 

near the railroad bridge turntable pier and the concrete nose, 

the scour holes are about the same between the two surveys 

(fig. 16). As in the previous difference maps (fig. 15), minimal 

scour or deposition was observed along the downstream right 

bank (fig. 16), confirming this may be a scour resistant area of 

rock. As with all difference maps presented in this report, substantial deposition or scour apparent at the faces of the piers 

results from minor horizontal positional variances between the 

surveys (see “Uncertainty Estimation” section).

The vertically averaged velocity vectors indicate mostly 

uniform flow upstream from the structure A4649 ranging 

from a minimum of 2 ft/s along the inside of the bend on the 

upstream left (north) bank to a maximum velocity of about 

9 ft/s in the channel thalweg along the outside of the bend on 

the right (south) bank (fig. 17). Exceptions to uniform conditions include diagonal flows across the channel in the immediately vicinity of structure A4649 (fig. 17), which may help 

explain the shift in the channel thalweg towards the left (north) 

bank. Substantial turbulence also was observed between structure A4649 and the railroad bridge and downstream from the 

railroad bridge piers (fig. 17).

Percent of total survey-grid cells

Cumulative percent of survey-grid cells lower than

indicated elevation

Elevation, in feet above North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

670 680 690 700 710 720 730 740

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

1.2

EXPLANATION

Frequency distribution

[ft3/s, cubic foot per second]

2015 survey data;

 94,500 ft3/s

2011 survey data;

 217,000 ft3/s

2010 survey data;

 127,000 ft3/s

Cumulative percent

2015 survey data;

 94,500 ft3/s

2011 survey data;

 217,000 ft3/s

2010 survey data;

 127,000 ft3/s

Figure 13. Frequency distribution of bed elevations for bathymetric survey-grid cells on the Missouri River near 

structure A4649 on U.S. Highway 169 in Kansas City, Missouri, on June 2, 2015, compared to previous surveys.
Pier 2

Pier 3

Cap

Column

Cap

Caisson

Caisson

Column

600 650 700 750 800 850 900 950 1,000 1,050 1,100 1,150 1,200 1,250 1,300 1,350 1,400 1,450 1,500 1

Distance from fill face of left (north) abutment, in feet

725750675650700800775825

Elevation,infeet above North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

Part of bridge shown above

Survey is along cross-section line shown in figur

A 

Channel bed from 2015 multibeam surveyChannel bed from 2011 multibeam surveyChannel bed from 2010 multibeam survey

Approximate ground line from 1954 bridge plansApproximate ground line from Level II scour survey on 11/05/2002

Average water surface during 2015 survey (724.6 feet above Average water surface during 2011 survey (737.6 feet above Average water surface during 2010 survey (727.8 feet above 

Approximate top of bedrock (from core logs)

Substructural and superstru

 and top of bedro

 Department of 

Figure 14. Key features, substructural and superstructural details, and surveyed channel bed of structure A4649 on U.S. Highway 169 crossing the Kansas City, Missouri.
94°35'35" 94°35'30" 94°35'25" 94°35'20"

39°06'40"

39°06'35"

94°35'30"

94°35'35"

39°06'45" 39°06'50"

FLOW

Base from National Agriculture Imagery Program, 2014Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 15 NorthHorizontal coordinate information referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)Vertical coordinate information referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

0 50 

EXPLANATION

Change in channel-bed elevation, in feet 

-45 -30 -20 -15 -10 -7 -5 -3 -1 1 3 5 7 10 15 20 30

SCOUR DEPOSITION $ No data

Cross section shown

in figure 14 A'

A

Railroad bridge pier

Railroad bridge pier

A4649

Pier 2

Railroad 

bridge turnConcrete nose table pier

for railroad 

bridge turn- table pier

Stone revetment

Shallow area

Trough of dune in 2011

survey

Spur dike

Stone revetment

Figure 15. Difference between surfaces created from bathymetric surveys of the Missouri River channel near structure A4649 on U.S. HighwaMissouri, on June 2, 2015, and July 17, 2011.
Figure 16. Difference between surfaces created from bathymetric surveys of the Missouri River channel near structure A4649 on U.S. HighwaMissouri, on June 2, 2015, and March 16, 2010.

94°35'35" 94°35'30" 94°35'25" 94°35'20"

39°06'40"

39°06'35"

94°35'30"

94°35'35"

39°06'45" 39°06'50"

FLOW

Base from National Agriculture Imagery Program, 2014Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 15 NorthHorizontal coordinate information referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)Vertical coordinate information referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

0 50 

EXPLANATION

Change in channel-bed elevation, in feet 

-45 -30 -20 -15 -10 -7 -5 -3 -1 1 3 5 7 10 15 20 30

SCOUR DEPOSITION $ No data

A'

A

Railroad bridge pier

Railroad bridge pier

A4649

Pier 2

Railroad 

bridge turnConcrete nose table pier

for railroad 

bridge turn- table pier

Stone revetment

Shallow area

Spur dike

Stone revetment

Cross section shown

in figure 14
28 Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys at Highway Bridges Crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri

94°35'15"

94°35'10"

94°35'35"

94°35'30"

94°35'25"

94°35'20"

39°06'40"

39°06'35"

94°35'30"

94°35'35"

39°06'45"

39°06'50"

FLOW

Base from National Agriculture Imagery Program, 2014

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 15 North

Horizontal coordinate information referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)

Vertical coordinate information referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

0 50 100 150 200 250 FEET

0 25 50 75 METERS

June 2, 2015

94,500 cubic feet per second

724.6 feet above NAVD 88

Survey date

Discharge

Average water-surface elevation

Channel-bed elevation,

 in feet above NAVD 88

EXPLANATION

No data

$

0−1

1−2

2−3

3−4

4−5

5−6

6−7

7−8

8−9

9−10

10−11

11−12

Vertically averaged velocity, 

 in feet per second

730

725

720

715

710

705

700

695

690

685

680

675

Cross section shown

in figure 14

A

A'

Remnant of old

railroad bridge

turntable pier

Remnant of old

railroad bridge pier

Remnant of old

railroad bridge pier

Railroad bridge pier

Railroad bridge pier

A4649

Pier 2

Railroad 

bridge turntable pier Concrete nose 

for railroad 

bridge turntable pier

Stone revetment

Shallow area

Spur dike

Stone revetment

A4649

Pier 1

Figure 17. Bathymetry and vertically averaged velocities of the Missouri River channel near structure A4649 on U.S. Highway 169 in Kansas City, Missouri.
Results of Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys 29

Structure A4060 on State Highway 9

Structure A4060 (site 9) on State Highway 9 crosses the 

Missouri River at RM 365.5, immediately north of downtown 

Kansas City, Mo. (fig. 1), and is about 3,400 ft downstream 

from structure A4649 on U.S. Highway 169. The site was surveyed on June 3, 2015, and the average water-surface elevation of the river in the survey area, determined by the RTK 

GPS tide solution, was 723.7 ft (table 5). Flow on the Missouri 

River was about 93,900 ft3/s during the survey (table 5).

The survey area was about 1,640 ft long and about 840 ft 

wide, extending from bank to bank in the main channel 

(fig. 18). Piers 5 and 6 were in the water and away from the 

banks, and the upstream end of the survey area was about 

665 ft upstream from the centerline of structure A4060 at 

pier 6 (fig. 18). The channel-bed elevations ranged from 

about 696 to 710 ft for most of the surveyed area (5 to 

95 percentile range of the bathymetric data; table 5; fig. 19), 

except near the railroad bridge pier upstream from pier 6 of 

structure A4060 (fig. 18). The channel did not have a noticeable thalweg, although the channel was slightly deeper along 

the right (south) side throughout the surveyed area (fig. 18). 

A few medium dune features were detected in the middle of 

the channel upstream from the bridges, and numerous smaller 

dunes and ripples were present throughout the channel reach 

(fig. 18). As in previous surveys, stone revetment was present 

on the right (south) bank throughout the reach (fig. 18).

A scour hole near main channel pier 5 (fig. 18) had a 

minimum channel-bed elevation of about 693 ft (table 6), 

about 3 ft below the elevation of the bottom of the pier seal 

course of 696.26 ft (fig. 20; table 6). Submerged debris with 

several beams or trees were protruding from the channel bed 

immediately upstream from pier 5 (figs. 18 and 2–3). Near the 

right (south) main channel pier 6 (fig. 18), a scour hole had a 

minimum channel-bed elevation of about 688 ft (table 6), 

about 8 ft below the elevation of the bottom of the pier seal 

course of 696.26 ft (fig. 20; table 6). A substantially deeper 

scour hole was observed near the upstream railroad bridge pier 

(fig. 18), with a minimum elevation of about 679 ft, which is 

the overall minimum channel-bed elevation observed in this 

reach (table 5). This deeper hole likely was the result of flow 

over large sheet piling panels that were lying on the channel bottom on the right (south) side of the upstream railroad 

bridge pier first observed in the 2010 survey (Huizinga, 2010). 

Information from bridge plans indicates that piers 5 and 6 are 

founded on shafts drilled 20 ft into bedrock, with about 26 ft 

of bed material between the bottom of the scour hole and bedrock at pier 5 and 18 ft of material at pier 6 (fig. 20; table 6).

The difference between the survey on June 3, 2015, 

and the previous survey on July 17, 2011 (fig. 21), indicates 

moderate degradation throughout the reach from 2011 to 2015, 

with an average difference of -1.25 ft between the bathymetric 

surfaces (table 7). The net volume of cut in the reach from 

2011 to 2015 was about 118,500 yd3

, and the net volume of fill 

was about 55,100 yd3, resulting in a net loss of about 63,400 

yd3 of sediment between 2011 and 2015. Substantial deposition had been observed between the 2010 and 2011 surveys 

(Huizinga, 2012), but ongoing sediment transport processes at 

this site seem to have removed some of the sediment deposits. There was an area of substantial scour in the upstream 

channel, and moderate scour along the left (north) side of the 

downstream channel (fig. 21). The thalweg observed along 

the right (south) bank in 2011 experienced deposition, and 

the substantial scour hole downstream from the right railroad 

bridge pier also had 7 to 10 ft of deposition (fig. 21). The cross 

sections from the two surveys were similar to one another 

to the left of pier 6, whereas to the right of pier 6, the 2015 

survey is 5 to 10 ft higher (fig. 20); however, the frequency 

distribution of bed elevations was substantially narrower 

in 2015 than in 2011, with a higher minimum channel-bed 

elevation and a much greater percentage of survey-grid cells 

at a lower elevation than 2011 (fig. 19). The scour hole near 

main channel pier 5 in 2015 was of a similar shape to that in 

2011, albeit substantially shallower on the right side (figs. 20 

and 21). The localized scour observed on the stone revetment 

on the right (south) bank in 2011 (Huizinga, 2012) seemed to 

have stabilized between 2011 and 2015 (fig. 21). As with all 

difference maps in this report, substantial deposition or scour 

apparent at the faces of the piers results from minor horizontal 

positional variances between the surveys (see “Uncertainty 

Estimation” section).

Structure A4060 on State Highway 9 crosses the Missouri River 

at river mile 365.5, immediately north of downtown Kansas City, 

Missouri.
30 Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys at Highway Bridges Crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri

Figure 18. Bathymetric survey of the Missouri River channel near structure A4060 on State Highway 9 in Kansas City, Missouri.

94°34'55"

94°34'50"

94°34'45"

94°34'40"

94°34'35"

39°07'00"

39°06'55"

94°34'50"

94°34'30"

94°34'55"

39°07'05"

39°07'10"

FLOW

Base from National Agriculture Imagery Program, 2014

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 15 North

Horizontal coordinate information referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)

Vertical coordinate information referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

0 50 100 150 200 250 FEET

0 25 50 75 METERS

June 3, 2015

93,900 cubic feet per second

723.7 feet above NAVD 88

Survey date

Discharge

Average water-surface elevation

Channel-bed elevation,

 in feet above NAVD 88

EXPLANATION

No data

$

730

725

720

715

710

705

700

695

690

685

680

675

Cross section shown

in figure 20

Longitudinal section

 shown in figure 51

B B'

Longitudinal section

 shown in figure 51

C C'

A

A'

A4060

Pier 6 Railroad

bridge pier

Sheet piling

panels

Stone revetment

Stone revetment

Railroad

bridge pier

A4060

Pier 5

A4060

Pier 4
Results of Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys 31

The difference between the survey on June 3, 2015, and 

the previous nonflood survey on March 16, 2010 (fig. 22), 

indicates minor deposition throughout the reach from 2010 

to 2015, with an average difference of +0.75 ft between the 

bathymetric surfaces (table 7). The net volume of cut in the 

reach from 2010 to 2015 was about 57,500 yd3, and the net 

volume of fill was about 93,700 yd3, resulting in a net gain 

of about 36,200 yd3 of sediment between 2010 and 2015. 

Substantial scour was observed in the middle of the upstream 

channel in 2015, and minor to moderate scour was observed 

along the left (north) bank; however, deposition was observed 

throughout most of the reach (fig. 22). The cross sections from 

the two surveys further indicate the deposition except to the 

left of pier 5 (fig. 20). The frequency distribution of bed elevations was substantially narrower in 2015 than in 2010, with a 

greater percentage of survey-grid cells at a higher elevation 

than 2010 (fig. 19). The localized scour observed on the stone 

revetment on the right (south) bank in 2011 (Huizinga, 2012) 

is present in the difference between the 2015 and 2010 surveys 

(fig. 22). As with all difference maps in this report, substantial 

deposition or scour apparent at the faces of the piers results 

from minor horizontal positional variances between the surveys (see “Uncertainty Estimation” section). 

The vertically averaged velocity vectors indicate mostly 

uniform flow throughout the channel, ranging from about 3 to 

8 ft/s (fig. 23). Exceptions to uniform conditions include flow 

reversal observed in the area downstream from the left (north) 

railroad bridge pier (fig. 23). Substantial turbulence also was 

observed downstream from the right (south) piers of the railroad bridge and structure A4060 (fig. 23).

Percent of total survey-grid cells

Cumulative percent of survey-grid cells lower than

indicated elevation

Elevation, in feet above North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

670 680 690 700 710 720 730

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

EXPLANATION

Frequency distribution

[ft3/s, cubic foot per second]

2015 survey data;

 93,900 ft3/s

2011 survey data;

 217,000 ft3/s

2010 survey data;

 126,000 ft3/s

Cumulative percent

2015 survey data;

 93,900 ft3/s

2011 survey data;

 217,000 ft3/s

2010 survey data;

 126,000 ft3/s

Figure 19. Frequency distribution of bed elevations for bathymetric survey-grid cells on the Missouri River near structure 

A4060 on State Highway 9 in Kansas City, Missouri, on June 3, 2015, compared to previous surveys.
Figure 20. Key features, substructural and superstructural details, and surveyed channel bed of structure A4060 on State Highway 9 crossing the Kansas City, Missouri.

Pier 6

Pier 4

Footing

Seal course Footing Seal course

Cap

Column

Cap

Drilledshafts

Drilledshafts

Column

Footing

Seal course

Cap

Drilledshafts

Column

Pier 5

550 600 650 700 750 800 850 900 950 1,000 1,050 1,100 1,150 1,200 1,250 1,300 1,350 1,400 1,4

Distance from fill face of left (north) abutment, in feet

700725650625675825850775750800

Elevation,infeet above North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

Part of bridge shown above

Survey is along cross-section line shown in figur

A 

Channel bed from 2015 multibeam surveyChannel bed from 2011 multibeam surveyChannel bed from 2010 multibeam survey

Approximate ground line from Level II scour survey on 11/05/2002

Approximate ground line from 1981 bridge plans

Average water surface during 2015 survey (723.1 fAverage water surface during 2011 survey (737.1 fAverage water surface during 2010 survey (727.0 f

Approximate top of bedrock (from core logs)

Substructural and superstru

 and top of bedro

 Department of 
94°34'55" 94°34'50" 94°34'45" 94°34'40" 

39°07'00"

39°06'55"

94°34'50"

94°34'55"

39°07'05" 39

FLOW

Base from National Agriculture Imagery Program, 2014Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 15 NorthHorizontal coordinate information referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)Vertical coordinate information referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

0 50 0 

EXPLANATION

Change in channel-bed elevation, in feet 

-45 -30 -20 -15 -10 -7 -5 -3 -1 1 3 5 7 10 15 20 30

SCOUR DEPOSITION $

Cross section shown

in figure 20

A

A'

A4060 Railroad Pier 6 bridge pier

Stone revetment Stone revetment

Railroad

bridge pier

A4060

Pier 5

Figure 21. Difference between surfaces created from bathymetric surveys of the Missouri River channel near structure A4060 on State HighwMissouri, on June 3, 2015, and July 17, 2011.
94°34'55" 94°34'50" 94°34'45" 94°34'40" 

39°07'00" 39°06'55" 94°34'50" 

94°34'55" 39°07'05" 39

FLOW Base from National Agriculture Imagery Program, 2014 Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 15 North Horizontal coordinate information referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83) Vertical coordinate information referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88) 0 50 

0 

EXPLANATION Change in channel-bed elevation, in feet -45 -30 -20 -15 -10 -7 -5 -3 -1 1 3 5 7 10 15 20 30 SCOUR DEPOSITION $ Cross section shown in figure 20 A A' A4060 Railroad Pier 6 bridge pier Stone revetment Stone revetment Railroad bridge pier A4060 Pier 5 Figure 22. Difference between surfaces created from bathymetric surveys of the Missouri River channel near structure A4060 on State Highwa

Missouri, on June 3, 2015, and March 16, 2010.
Results of Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys 35

94°34'55"

94°34'50"

94°34'45"

94°34'40"

94°34'35"

39°07'00"

39°06'55"

94°34'50"

94°34'30"

94°34'55"

39°07'05"

39°07'10"

FLOW

Base from National Agriculture Imagery Program, 2014

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 15 North

Horizontal coordinate information referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)

Vertical coordinate information referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

0 50 100 150 200 250 FEET

0 25 50 75 METERS

June 3, 2015

93,900 cubic feet per second

723.7 feet above NAVD 88

Survey date

Discharge

Average water-surface elevation

Channel-bed elevation,

 in feet above NAVD 88

EXPLANATION

No data

$

730

725

720

715

710

705

700

695

690

685

680

675

0−1

1−2

2−3

3−4

4−5

5−6

6−7

7−8

8−9

9−10

10−11

11−12

Vertically averaged velocity, 

 in feet per second

A4060

Pier 4

Cross section shown

in figure 20

A

A'

A4060

Pier 6 Railroad

bridge pier

Sheet piling

panels

Stone revetment

Stone revetment

Railroad

bridge pier

A4060

Pier 5

Figure 23. Bathymetry and vertically averaged velocities of the Missouri River channel near structure A4060 on State Highway 9 in Kansas City, Missouri.
36 Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys at Highway Bridges Crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri

Structure A7650 on Interstate 35

Structure A7650 (site 10) on Interstate 35 crosses the 

Missouri River at RM 364.7, immediately north of downtown 

Kansas City, Mo. (fig. 1), and is about 4,300 ft downstream 

from structure A4060 on State Highway 9. The site was surveyed on June 3, 2015, and the average water-surface elevation of the river in the survey area, determined by the RTK 

GPS tide solution, was 723.1 ft (table 5). Flow on the Missouri 

River was about 97,100 ft3/s during the survey (table 5).

The survey area was about 1,640 ft long and about 805 ft 

wide, extending from bank to bank in the main channel (fig. 

24). The upstream end of the survey area was about 700 ft 

upstream from the centerline of structure A7650 at the main 

channel pylon (fig. 24). The channel-bed elevations ranged 

from about 692 to 709 ft for most of the surveyed area (5 to 

95 percentile range of the bathymetric data; table 5; fig. 25), 

except near the pylon and downstream from the spur dike on 

the downstream left (north) bank (fig. 24). Similar to upstream 

structure A4060, there was no definitive thalweg along either 

side of the channel (fig. 24). Numerous medium and small 

dunes and ripples were present throughout the channel 

(fig. 24). Downstream from the spur dike on the left (north) 

side of the downstream reach, the minimum channel-bed 

elevations of 676 ft was observed (fig. 24; table 5). Stone 

revetment was present on the right (south) bank throughout 

the reach (fig. 24) and seemed to have an area where it had 

slumped near the downstream end of the reach.

The main channel pylon seemed to be surrounded by 

a mound of rock riprap, with a local minimum channel-bed 

elevation of about 681 ft near the downstream left (north) corner (fig. 24; table 6). The top of the riprap around the upstream 

face of the pylon was at an elevation of about 697 ft, which 

is slightly below the elevation of the bottom of the pylon seal 

course of 699.50 ft (table 6); the top of the riprap along the 

sides of the pylon is lower than at the upstream face (figs. 24 

and 26). The minimum channel-bed elevation near the pylon 

was about 19 ft below the elevation of the bottom of the pylon 

seal course (fig. 24; table 6). Information from bridge plans 

indicates that the pylon is founded on shafts drilled 32 ft into 

bedrock, with about 34 ft of bed material between the bottom 

of the scour hole and bedrock (fig. 26; table 6). 

The difference between the survey on June 3, 2015, and 

the previous survey on July 17, 2011 (fig. 27), indicates moderate deposition throughout the reach from 2011 to 2015, with 

an average difference of +1.84 ft between the bathymetric surfaces (table 7). The net volume of cut in the reach from 2011 

to 2015 was about 37,100 yd3

, and the net volume of fill was 

about 124,600 yd3, resulting in a net gain of about 87,500 yd3

of sediment between 2011 and 2015. There were areas of substantial deposition in 2015, particularly downstream from the 

main channel pylon and in the area of a scour hole present in 

the 2011 survey near the old pier of structure L0734 (fig. 27); 

however, there also was an area of substantial scour (of nearly 

35 ft) downstream from the spur dike on the downstream left 

(north) bank, and smaller areas of moderate scour scattered 

throughout the reach (fig. 27). The cross sections from the two 

surveys were similar to one another except in the area 

downstream from the old pier of structure L0734 about 

1,250 ft from the fill face of the left (north) abutment (fig. 26). 

The frequency distribution of bed elevations was of a similar shape but narrower in 2015 than in 2011, with a greater 

percentage of survey-grid cells at a higher elevation than 

2011 (fig. 25). The scour hole near the main channel pylon 

in 2015 was of a similar size and shape to that in 2015, albeit 

shallower on the outer side edges (figs. 26 and 27). The stone 

revetment on the right (south) bank seemed to have several 

areas of localized deposition and scour (fig. 27).

Structure A7650 on Interstate 35 crosses the Missouri River at 

river mile 364.7, immediately north of downtown Kansas City, 

Missouri.
Results of Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys 37

94°34'05"

94°34'00"

94°33'55"

94°33'50"

39°07'20"

39°07'15"

94°34'05"

94°33'45"

39°07'25"

39°07'30"

FLOW

Base from National Agriculture Imagery Program, 2014

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 15 North

Horizontal coordinate information referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)

Vertical coordinate information referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

0 50 100 150 200 250 FEET

0 25 50 75 METERS

Survey date

Discharge

Average water-surface elevation

June 3, 2015

97,100 cubic feet per second

723.1 feet above NAVD 88

Channel-bed elevation,

 in feet above NAVD 88

EXPLANATION

No data

$

730

725

720

715

710

705

700

695

690

685

680

675

Cross section shown

in figure 26

A

A'

A7650 Pylon

Old pier

L0734

Rock on bank

Spur dike

Stone revetment Stone revetment

Slumped stone revetment?

Rock

riprap

Longitudinal section

 shown in figure 51 B B'

Tributary

Figure 24. Bathymetric survey of the Missouri River channel near structure A7650 on Interstate 35 in Kansas City, Missouri.
38 Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys at Highway Bridges Crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri

The vertically averaged velocity vectors indicate mostly 

uniform flow throughout most of the reach, with velocities 

ranging from about 3 to 8 ft/s (fig. 28). Exceptions to uniform 

conditions include flow reversal on the left (north) bank near 

the upstream tributary and in the pool downstream from the 

spur dike (fig. 28). Substantial turbulence also was observed 

downstream from the main channel pylon (fig. 28), likely as a 

result of the pylon being skewed to flow. The velocities do not 

seem to be higher near the bulge in the left bank at the bridge, 

but a velocity cross section was not taken in the constriction.

Percent of total survey-grid cells

Cumulative percent of survey-grid cells lower than

indicated elevation

Elevation, in feet above North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

670 680 690 700 710 720 730

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

EXPLANATION

Frequency distribution

[ft3/s, cubic foot per second]

2015 survey data;

 97,100 ft3/s

2011 survey data;

 217,000 ft3/s

Cumulative percent

2015 survey data;

 97,100 ft3/s

2011 survey data;

 217,000 ft3/s

Figure 25. Frequency distribution of bed elevations for bathymetric survey-grid cells on the Missouri River near 

structure A7650 on Interstate 35 in Kansas City, Missouri, on June 3, 2015, compared to previous surveys.
Figure 26. Key features, substructural and superstructural details, and surveyed channel bed of structure A7650 on Interstate 35 crossing the MiKansas City, Missouri.

Pylon

Bent 2Cap

Drilled shaft

Column

Footing

Pedestal

Seal course

Drilledshafts

Column

500 600 700 800 900 1,000 1,100 1,200 1,300 1,400 1,500 

Distance from fill face of left (north) abutment, in feet

700725600625650675825775750875850800

Elevation,infeet above North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

Part of bridge shown above

Average water surface during 2011 survey (736.4 feet above NAVD 88)Average water surface during 2015 survey (723.1 feet above NAVD 88)

Channel bed from 2015 multibeam surveyChannel bed from 2011 multibeam survey

Approximate ground line

from 2008 bridge plans

Approximate top of bedrock (from core logs)

Survey is along cross-section line shown in figur

A 

Substructural and superstru

 and top of bedro

 Department of 
94°34'05" 94°34'00" 94°33'55" 

39°07'20" 39°07'15" 94°34'05" 94°33'45" 39°07'25" 39°07'30" FLOW Base from National Agriculture Imagery Program, 2014 Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 15 North Horizontal coordinate information referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83) Vertical coordinate information referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88) 0 5

0 

EXPLANATION Change in channel-bed elevation, in feet -45 -30 -20 -15 -10 -7 -5 -3 -1 1 3 5 7 10 15 20 30 SCOUR DEPOSITION $ No data Cross section shown in figure 26 A A' A7650 Pylon Old pier L0734 Rock on bank

Spur dike

Stone revetment Stone revetment

Slumped stone revetm

Rock

riprap

Figure 27. Difference between surfaces created from bathymetric surveys of the Missouri River channel near structure A7650 on Interstate 3Missouri, on June 3, 2015, and July 17, 2011.
Results of Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys 41

94°34'05"

94°34'00"

94°33'55"

94°33'50"

39°07'20"

39°07'15"

94°34'05"

94°33'45"

39°07'25"

39°07'30"

FLOW

Base from National Agriculture Imagery Program, 2014

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 15 North

Horizontal coordinate information referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)

Vertical coordinate information referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

0 50 100 150 200 250 FEET

0 25 50 75 METERS

Survey date

Discharge

Average water-surface elevation

June 3, 2015

97,100 cubic feet per second

723.1 feet above NAVD 88

Channel-bed elevation,

 in feet above NAVD 88

EXPLANATION

No data

$

730

725

720

715

710

705

700

695

690

685

680

675

0−1

1−2

2−3

3−4

4−5

5−6

6−7

7−8

8−9

9−10

10−11

11−12

Vertically averaged velocity, 

 in feet per second

Cross section shown

in figure 26

A

A'

A7650 Pylon

Old pier

L0734

Rock on bank

Tributary

Spur dike

Stone revetment Stone revetment

Slumped stone revetment?

Rock

riprap

Figure 28. Bathymetric survey of the Missouri River channel near structure A7650 on Interstate 35 in Kansas City, Missouri.
42 Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys at Highway Bridges Crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri

Structure A5817 on State Highway 269

Structure A5817 (site 11) on State Highway 269 crosses 

the Missouri River at RM 362.3, northeast of downtown 

Kansas City, Mo. (fig. 1). The site was surveyed on June 3, 

2015, and the average water-surface elevation of the river in 

the survey area, determined by the RTK GPS tide solution, 

was 721.9 ft (table 5). Flow on the Missouri River was about 

103,000 ft3/s during the survey (table 5).

The survey area was about 1,640 ft long and about 970 ft 

wide, extending from bank to bank in the main channel 

(fig. 29). Piers 2 and 3 were in the water and away from the 

banks, and the upstream end of the survey area was about 

670 ft upstream from the centerline of structure A5817 at pier 

2 (fig. 29). The channel-bed elevations ranged from about 

690 to 710 ft for most of the surveyed area (5 to 95 percentile 

range of the bathymetric data; table 5; fig. 30). A deep thalweg 

along the left (north) bank throughout the surveyed area 

contained evidence of bedrock exposure and was about 15 to 

20 ft deeper than the channel bed in the middle of the channel 

(fig. 29). Numerous medium dune features were observed in 

the channel thalweg, and numerous medium to small dunes 

and ripples were present throughout the rest of the channel, 

decreasing in size towards the right (south) bank (fig. 29). In 

addition to the rock outcrops on the left (north) bank, stone 

revetment also was present on the left bank throughout the 

reach (fig. 29).

A minor scour hole near main channel pier 2 (fig. 29) had 

a minimum channel-bed elevation of about 693 ft (table 6), 

about 6 ft above the elevation of the bottom of the pier seal 

course of 687.26 ft (fig. 31; table 6). The top of the pier footing was evident along the length of the pier during the survey 

(fig. 29). The minor scour hole near pier 3 was difficult to discern from nearby small dunes and ripples (fig. 29). Information from bridge plans indicates that piers 2 and 3 of structure 

A5817 are founded on shafts drilled 20 ft into bedrock, with 

about 16 ft of bed material between the bottom of the scour 

hole and bedrock at pier 2 and about 44 ft of material at pier 3 

(fig. 31; table 6).

The difference between the survey on June 3, 2015, and 

the previous survey on July 18, 2011 (fig. 32), indicates substantial degradation throughout the reach from 2011 to 2015, 

with an average difference of -2.99 ft between the bathymetric 

surfaces (table 7). The net volume of cut in the reach from 

2011 to 2015 was about 184,000 yd3

, and the net volume of fill 

was about 11,500 yd3, resulting in a net loss of about 172,500 

yd3 of sediment between 2011 and 2015. Substantial deposition had been observed between the 2010 and 2011 surveys 

(Huizinga, 2012), but ongoing sediment transport processes 

at this site have removed much of the sediment deposits as 

indicated by the substantial scour observed between 2011 and 

2015 (fig. 32). There were a few areas of moderate deposition from 2011 to 2015, predominantly in the upstream reach 

and in the downstream thalweg (fig. 32). The cross sections 

from the two surveys also indicated substantial degradation throughout (fig. 31). The frequency distribution of bed 

elevations was of a similar shape but narrower in 2015 than in 

2011, with a greater percentage of survey-grid cells at a lower 

elevation than 2011 (fig. 30). Whereas the bottom of the scour 

hole near main channel pier 2 was below the seal course in 

2010 and at the top of the footing in 2011, in 2015 it was near 

the interface between the pier footing and seal course (fig. 31). 

The stone revetment on the left (north) bank showed no signs 

of substantial change (fig. 32).

The difference between the survey on June 3, 2015, and 

the previous nonflood survey on March 17, 2010 (fig. 33), 

indicates minor deposition throughout the reach from 2010 

to 2015, with an average difference +0.28 ft between the 

bathymetric surfaces (table 7). The net volume of cut in the 

reach from 2010 to 2015 was about 54,000 yd3

, and the net 

volume of fill was about 69,500 yd3, resulting in a net gain 

of about 15,500 yd3 of sediment between 2010 and 2015. 

Primarily deposition was observed in the channel thalweg 

along the left (north) bank in 2015, whereas primarily scour 

was observed along the inside of the channel bend along the 

right (south) bank (fig. 33). The cross sections from the two 

surveys indicate the balance of deposition and scour from left 

to right across the channel (fig. 31). The frequency distribution 

Structure A5817 on State Highway 269 crosses the Missouri River 

at river mile 362.3, northeast of downtown Kansas City, Missouri.
Results of Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys 43

94°31'55" 

94°31'50" 

94°32'15"

94°32'10"

94°32'05"

94°32'

39°08'45"

39°08'40"

94°32'15"

39°08'50"

39°08'55"

FLOW

Base from National Agriculture Imagery Program, 2014

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 15 North

Horizontal coordinate information referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)

Vertical coordinate information referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

0 50 100 150 200 250 FEET

0 25 50 75 METERS

Survey date

Discharge

Average water-surface elevation

June 3, 2015

103,000 cubic feet per second

721.9 feet above NAVD 88

Channel-bed elevation,

 in feet above NAVD 88

EXPLANATION

No data

725

720

715

710

705

700

695

690

685

680

$

Cross section shown

in figure 31

Longitudinal section

 shown in figure 51

B B'

Longitudinal section

 shown in figure 51

C C'

A

A'

Pier 2

Stone revetment

Stone revetment

Bedrock outcrops Bedrock outcrops

Pier 3

Figure 29. Bathymetric survey of the Missouri River channel near structure A5817 on State Highway 269 in Kansas City, Missouri.
44 Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys at Highway Bridges Crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri

of bed elevations was of a similar shape in 2015 compared to 

2010 but with a higher minimum channel-bed elevation and 

a greater percentage of survey-grid cells at a given elevation 

than in 2010 (fig. 30). The localized scour observed at the 

stone revetment on the left (north) bank observed between 

2010 and 2011 (Huizinga, 2012) also was evident (fig. 33).

The vertically averaged velocity vectors indicate mostly 

uniform flow throughout the reach, ranging from about 3 ft/s 

along the inside of the bend on the right (south) bank to 9 ft/s 

in the downstream thalweg (fig. 34). Exceptions to uniform 

flow include flows angled to the left (north) in the upstream 

part of the reach because of the bend in the channel (fig. 34). 

Moderate turbulence also was observed along the thalweg near 

the bedrock outcrops and along the inside of the bend along 

the right (south) bank (fig. 34).

Percent of total survey-grid cells

Cumulative percent of survey-grid cells lower than

indicated elevation

Elevation, in feet above North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

680 690 700 710 720 730

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

670

EXPLANATION

Frequency distribution

[ft3/s, cubic foot per second]

2015 survey data;

 103,000 ft3/s

2011 survey data;

 212,000 ft3/s

2010 survey data;

 124,000 ft3/s

Cumulative percent

2015 survey data;

 103,000 ft3/s

2011 survey data;

 212,000 ft3/s

2010 survey data;

 124,000 ft3/s

Figure 30. Frequency distribution of bed elevations for bathymetric survey-grid cells on the Missouri River near 

structure A5817 on State Highway 269 in Kansas City, Missouri, on June 3, 2015, compared to previous surveys.
Figure 31. Key features, substructural and superstructural details, and surveyed channel bed of structure A5817 on State Highway 269 crossing thKansas City, Missouri.

Pier 3

Pier 1

Pier 2 

Footing

Seal course

Footing

Pedestal Pedestal

Cap

Column

Cap

Drilledshafts

Column

Footing

Seal course

Cap

Drilledshafts

Column

Pedestal

150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600 650 700 750 800 850 900 950 1,000 1,050 1,100 1,150 

Distance from fill face of left (north) abutment, in feet

700725650625675825775750800

Elevation,infeet above North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

Part of bridge shown above

Survey is along cross-section line shown in figur

A 

Approximate ground line from 1992 bridge plans

Channel bed from 2015 multibeam surveyChannel bed from 2011 multibeam surveyChannel bed from 2010 multibeam survey

Average water surface during 2015 survey (721.9 feet above NAVD 88)Average water surface during 2011 survey (733.7 feet above NAVD 88)Average water surface during 2010 survey (724.0 feet above NAVD 88)

Approximate top of bedrock (from core logs)

Substructural and superstru

 and top of bedro

 Department of 
94°31'50" 

94°32'15" 94°32'10" 94°32'05" 94°32'

39°08'45"

39°08'40"

94°32'15"

39°08'50"

FLOW

Base from National Agriculture Imagery Program, 2014Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 15 NorthHorizontal coordinate information referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)Vertical coordinate information referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

0 0 

EXPLANATION

Change in channel-bed elevation, in feet 

-45 -30 -20 -15 -10 -7 -5 -3 -1 1 3 5 7 10 15 20 30

SCOUR DEPOSITION

No data $

Cross section shown

in figure 31

A

A'

Pier 2

Stone revetment

Stone revetment

Bedrock outcrops Bedrock outcro

Pier 3

Figure 32. Difference between surfaces created from bathymetric surveys of the Missouri River channel near structure A5817 on State HMissouri, on June 3, 2015, and July 18, 2011.
Figure 33. Difference between surfaces created from bathymetric surveys of the Missouri River channel near structure A5817 on State HighMissouri, on June 3, 2015, and March 17, 2010.

94°31'50" 

94°32'15" 94°32'10" 94°32'05" 94°32'

39°08'45"

39°08'40"

94°32'15"

39°08'50"

FLOW

Base from National Agriculture Imagery Program, 2014Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 15 NorthHorizontal coordinate information referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)Vertical coordinate information referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

0 0 

EXPLANATION

Change in channel-bed elevation, in feet 

-45 -30 -20 -15 -10 -7 -5 -3 -1 1 3 5 7 10 15 20 30

SCOUR DEPOSITION

No data $

Cross section shown

in figure 31

A

A'

Pier 2

Stone revetment

Stone revetment

Bedrock outcrops Bedrock outcro

Pier 3
48 Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys at Highway Bridges Crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri

94°31'55" 

94°31'50" 

94°32'15"

94°32'10"

94°32'05"

94°32'

39°08'45"

39°08'40"

94°32'15"

39°08'50"

39°08'55"

FLOW

Base from National Agriculture Imagery Program, 2014

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 15 North

Horizontal coordinate information referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)

Vertical coordinate information referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

0 50 100 150 200 250 FEET

0 25 50 75 METERS

Survey date

Discharge

Average water-surface elevation

June 3, 2015

103,000 cubic feet per second

721.9 feet above NAVD 88

Channel-bed elevation,

 in feet above NAVD 88

EXPLANATION

No data

725

720

715

710

705

700

695

690

685

680

$

0−1

1−2

2−3

3−4

4−5

5−6

6−7

7−8

8−9

9−10

10−11

11−12

Vertically averaged velocity, 

 in feet per second

Cross section shown

in figure 31

A

A'

Pier 2

Stone revetment

Stone revetment

Bedrock outcrops Bedrock outcrops

Pier 3

Figure 34. Bathymetry and vertically averaged velocities of the Missouri River channel near structure A5817 on State Highway 269 in Kansas City, Missouri.
Results of Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys 49

Structure A0767 on Interstate 435

Structure A0767 (site 12) on Interstate 435 crosses the 

Missouri River at RM 360.3, on the northeastern side Kansas 

City, Mo. (fig. 1). The site was surveyed on June 4, 2015, and 

the average water-surface elevation of the river in the survey 

area, determined by the RTK GPS tide solution, was 721.6 ft 

(table 5). Flow on the Missouri River was about 119,000 ft3/s 

during the survey (table 5).

The survey area was about 1,640 ft long and about 890 ft 

wide, extending from bank to bank in the main channel (fig. 

35). Piers 7 and 8 were in the water and away from the banks 

at structure A0767; however, as in previous surveys (Huizinga, 

2010, 2012), pier 8 was immediately downstream from a spur 

dike and surrounded by a persistent substantial debris raft, and 

only limited bathymetric data could be obtained near it (fig. 

35). A substantial and persistent sand bar also was present 

downstream from pier 8, as in previous surveys. The upstream 

end of the survey area was about 660 ft upstream from the 

centerline of structure A0767 at pier 7 (fig. 35). The channelbed elevations ranged from about 687 to 710 ft for most of 

the surveyed area (5 to 95 percentile range of the bathymetric 

data; table 5; fig. 36), except downstream from the tip of the 

spur dike and in the downstream reach near the rock outcrop 

on the left (north) bank (fig. 35). The channel thalweg was 

along the left (north) bank throughout the surveyed area, and 

became deeper in the downstream direction. The channel was 

filled with numerous medium dune features in the middle of 

the channel and numerous small dunes and ripples throughout 

the rest of the channel, decreasing in size towards the banks 

(fig. 35). Bedrock outcrops and stone revetment were present 

on the left (north) bank throughout the reach (fig. 35). Erroneous positioning during data collection created an offset of 

the data along the upstream left (north) bank between survey 

passes resulting in the appearance of bulges and data shifts in 

that area (figs. 5 and 35).

The scour hole near main channel pier 7 (fig. 35) had 

a minimum channel-bed elevation of about 679 ft (table 6), 

about 10 ft below the elevation of the bottom of the pier seal 

course of 689.26 ft (fig. 37; table 6). The upstream end of pier 

8 was embedded in the rock spur dike and could not be surveyed because of the persistent substantial debris raft (fig. 35). 

The top of the footing on the downstream end of the pier 

was visible (fig. 35), but the minimum channel elevation was 

694 ft, about 5 ft higher than the bottom of the seal course elevation of 689.26 ft (fig. 35; table 6). Information from bridge 

plans indicates that piers 7 and 8 are founded on shafts drilled 

20 ft into bedrock, with about 19 ft of bed material between 

the bottom of the scour hole and bedrock at pier 7 and about 

46 ft of material at pier 8 (fig. 37; table 6). The undermined 

seal course and upstream-most drilled shaft are evident in a 

shaded TIN image of the right (south) side of pier 7 (fig. 38).

The difference between the survey on June 4, 2015, 

and the previous survey on July 18, 2011 (fig. 39), indicates 

moderate deposition throughout the reach from 2011 to 2015, 

with an average difference of +1.59 ft between the bathymetric surfaces (table 7). The net volume of cut in the reach from 

2011 to 2015 was about 40,000 yd3

, and the net volume of 

fill was about 123,900 yd3, resulting in a net gain of about 

83,900 yd3 of sediment between 2011 and 2015. There were a 

few areas of substantial deposition of more than 20 ft downstream from pier 7 and the spur dike near pier 8 in 2015, and 

in the troughs of large and very large dunes detected in the 

2011 survey on the left (north) side of the channel (fig. 39). 

The cross sections from the two surveys were similar to each 

other, with the 2015 survey alternating being above and below 

the 2011 survey section (fig. 37). The frequency distribution 

of bed elevations was of a similar shape but narrower in 2015 

Structure A0767 on Interstate 435 crosses the Missouri River at 

river mile 360.3, on the northeastern side Kansas City, Missouri. 
50 Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys at Highway Bridges Crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri

94°30'00"

94°29'55"

94°29'50"

94°29'45"

94°29'40"

39°09'10"

39°09'05"

FLOW

Base from National Agriculture Imagery Program, 2014

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 15 North

Horizontal coordinate information referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)

Vertical coordinate information referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

0 50 100 150 200 250 FEET

0 25 50 75 METERS

June 4, 2015

119,000 cubic feet per second

721.6 feet above NAVD 88

Survey date

Discharge

Average water-surface elevation

Channel-bed elevation,

 in feet above NAVD 88

EXPLANATION

No data

$

725

720

715

710

705

700

695

690

685

680

675

670

Cross section shown

in figure 37

Longitudinal section

 shown in figure 51

B B'

A

A'

Pier 7

Stone revetment

Stone revetment

Bedrock

outcrop

Spur dike

Spur dike

Pier 8 Debris

raft

Unidentified 

submerged 

object

Bulges resulting from 

erroneous position data

 during collection along bank 

Sand bar

Figure 35. Bathymetric survey of the Missouri River channel near structure A0767 on Interstate 435 in Kansas City, Missouri.
Results of Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys 51

compared to 2011 and had a higher minimum channel-bed 

elevation and slightly different distribution of survey-grid 

cells at a given elevation than in 2011 (fig. 36). The scour hole 

near pier 7 was shallower and smaller in 2015 than in 2011, as 

evidenced by the horseshoe-shaped area of deposition around 

it (figs. 37 and 39). The positional offset of data along the 

upstream stone revetment on the left (north) bank creates the 

appearance of substantial deposition in 2015; additional areas 

of localized shifting evidenced by areas of deposition and 

scour along the downstream left bank may also be the result 

of erroneous position data between the 2011 and 2015 surveys 

(fig. 39).

The difference between the survey on June 4, 2015, and 

the previous nonflood survey on March 17, 2010 (fig. 40), 

indicates minor degradation throughout the reach from 2010 

to 2015, with an average difference of -0.13 ft between the 

bathymetric surfaces (table 7). The net volume of cut in the 

reach from 2010 to 2015 was about 61,700 yd3, and the net 

volume of fill was about 55,000 yd3, resulting in a net loss of 

about 6,700 yd3 of sediment between 2010 and 2015. There 

were a few areas of moderate to substantial deposition downstream from pier 7 and the spur dike near pier 8 in 2015 

(fig. 40). The cross sections from the two surveys were similar 

to each other, with the 2015 survey alternating being above 

and below the 2011 survey section (fig. 37). The frequency 

distribution of bed elevations was similar in shape in 2015 

compared to 2010 (fig. 36). The scour hole near pier 7 was 

slightly shallower and smaller in 2015 than in 2010, as 

evidenced by the moderate deposition along the sides and 

downstream (figs. 37 and 40). The positional offset of data 

along the upstream stone revetment on the left (north) bank 

again creates the appearance of substantial deposition in 2015; 

additional areas of localized shifting evidenced by areas of 

deposition and scour along the downstream left bank may also 

be the result of erroneous position data between the 2010 and 

2015 surveys (fig. 39). Apparently, something near the left 

bank adversely affects the INS at this site.

The vertically averaged velocity vectors indicate mostly 

uniform flow throughout the reach, ranging from about 2 ft/s 

along the inside of the bend on the right (south) bank to 

8 ft/s in the thalweg (fig. 41); however, turbulence and velocity reduction were observed downstream from the spur dike, 

debris raft, and pier 8, and moderate turbulence was observed 

in several transects (fig. 41).

Percent of total survey-grid cells

Cumulative percent of survey-grid cells lower than

indicated elevation

Elevation, in feet above North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

660 670 680 690 700 710 720 730

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

1.2

1.4

1.6

EXPLANATION

Frequency distribution

[ft3/s, cubic foot per second]

2015 survey data;

 119,000 ft3/s

2011 survey data;

 212,000 ft3/s

2010 survey data;

 123,000 ft3/s

Cumulative percent

2015 survey data;

 119,000 ft3/s

2011 survey data;

 212,000 ft3/s

2010 survey data;

 123,000 ft3/s

Figure 36. Frequency distribution of bed elevations for bathymetric survey-grid cells on the Missouri River near structure 

A0767 on Interstate 435 in Kansas City, Missouri, on June 4, 2015, compared to previous surveys.
Figure 37. Key features, substructural and superstructural details, and surveyed channel bed of structure A0767 on Interstate 435 crossing the MisCity, Missouri.

Pier 8

Pier 6

Pier 7

Footing

Seal course

Footing

Sealcourse

Cap

Column

Cap

Drilledshafts

Drilledshafts

Column

Footing

Seal course

Cap

Drilledshafts

Column

850 900 950 1,000 1,050 1,100 1,150 1,200 1,250 1,300 1,350 1,400 1,450 1,500 1,550 1,600 1,650 1,70

Distance from fill face of left (north) abutment, in feet

700725650625675825775750800

Elevation,infeet above North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

Part of bridge shown above

Approximate ground line from Level II scour survey on 11/06/2002

Approximate ground line from 1965 bridge plans

Channel bed from 2015 multibeam surveyChannel bed from 2011 multibeam surveyChannel bed from 2010 multibeam survey

Average water surface during 2015 survey (721.6 feet above NAVD 88)Average water surface during 2011 survey (732.3 feet above NAVD 88)Average water surface during 2010 survey (722.5 feet above NAVD 88)

Approximate top of bedrock (from core logs)

Survey is along cross-section line shown in figur

A 

Substructural and superstru

 and top of bedro

 Department of 
Results of Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys 53

Figure 38. Shaded triangulated irregular network visualization of the channel bed and right (south) side of main channel 

pier 7 of structure A0767 on Interstate 435 crossing the Missouri River in Kansas City, Missouri.

676682688694700706712718724

Elevation of point, in feet

 above the North American

 Vertical Datum of 1988

EXPLANATION

Flow

Undermined

seal course

Drilled shaft

Pier 7
94°30'00" 94°29'55" 94°29'50" 94°29'45" 

39°09'10" 39°09'05" FLOW Base from National Agriculture Imagery Program, 2014 Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 15 North Horizontal coordinate information referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83) Vertical coordinate information referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88) 0 

0 

EXPLANATION Change in channel-bed elevation, in feet -45 -30 -20 -15 -10 -7 -5 -3 -1 1 3 5 7 10 15 20 30 SCOUR DEPOSITION No data $ Cross section shown in figure 37 A A' Pier 7 Bulges resulting from erroneous position data during collection along bank during 2015 survey Stone revetment Stone revetment Bedrock outcrop

Spur dike

Spur dike

Pier 8 Debris

raft

Unidentified 

submerged object

Sand bar

Figure 39. Difference between surfaces created from bathymetric surveys of the Missouri River channel near structure A0767 on Interstate Missouri, on June 4, 2015, and July 18, 2011.
Figure 40. Difference between surfaces created from bathymetric surveys of the Missouri River channel near structure A0767 on Interstate Missouri, on June 4, 2015, and March 17, 2010.

94°30'00" 94°29'55" 94°29'50" 94°29'45" 

39°09'10"

39°09'05"

FLOW

Base from National Agriculture Imagery Program, 2014Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 15 NorthHorizontal coordinate information referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)Vertical coordinate information referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

0 0 

EXPLANATION

Change in channel-bed elevation, in feet 

-45 -30 -20 -15 -10 -7 -5 -3 -1 1 3 5 7 10 15 20 30

SCOUR DEPOSITION

No data $

Cross section shown

in figure 37

A

A'

Pier 7

Bulges resulting from erroneous position data during collection along bank during 2015 survey

Stone revetment

Stone revetment

Bedrock

outcrop

Spur dike

Spur dike

Pier 8 Debris

raft

Unidentified 

submerged object

Sand bar
56 Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys at Highway Bridges Crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri

94°30'00"

94°29'55"

94°29'50"

94°29'45"

94°29'40"

39°09'10"

39°09'05"

FLOW

Base from National Agriculture Imagery Program, 2014

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 15 North

Horizontal coordinate information referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)

Vertical coordinate information referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

0 50 100 150 200 250 FEET

0 25 50 75 METERS

June 4, 2015

119,000 cubic feet per second

721.6 feet above NAVD 88

Survey date

Discharge

Average water-surface elevation

Channel-bed elevation,

 in feet above NAVD 88

EXPLANATION

No data

$

0−1

1−2

2−3

3−4

4−5

5−6

6−7

7−8

8−9

9−10

10−11

11−12

Vertically averaged velocity, 

 in feet per second

725

720

715

710

705

700

695

690

685

680

675

670

Cross section shown

in figure 37

A

A'

Pier 7

Bulges resulting from 

erroneous position data

 during collection along bank 

Stone revetment

Stone revetment

Bedrock

outcrop

Spur dike

Spur dike

Pier 8 Debris

raft Sand bar

Unidentified 

submerged 

object

Figure 41. Bathymetry and vertically averaged velocities of the Missouri River channel near structure A0767 on Interstate 435 in Kansas City, Missouri.
Results of Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys 57

Structures A4757 and L0568 on State 

Highway 291

Structures A4757 and L0568 (site 13) are dual bridges on 

State Highway 291, crossing the Missouri River at RM 352.7 

on the northeastern side of the Kansas City, Mo., metropolitan 

area (fig. 1). The site was surveyed on June 4, 2015, and the 

average water-surface elevation of the river in the survey area, 

determined by the RTK GPS tide solution, was 715.9 ft (table 

5). Flow on the Missouri River was about 112,000 ft3/s during 

the survey (table 5).

The survey area was about 1,640 ft long and about 850 ft 

wide, extending from bank to bank in the main channel 

(fig. 42). The upstream end of the survey area was about 

720 ft upstream from the centerline between structures A4757 

and L0568 (fig. 42). The channel-bed elevations ranged from 

about 681 to 706 ft for most of the surveyed area (5 to 95 percentile range of the bathymetric data; table 5; fig. 43), except 

near the main channel piers of structures A4757 and L0568 

(fig. 42). A narrow channel thalweg was along the left (north) 

bank throughout the channel and was about 10 ft deeper than 

the middle of the channel (fig. 42). A row of medium dune features were observed in the left side of the channel, along with 

numerous small dunes and ripples throughout the rest of the 

channel (fig. 42). As in previous surveys, a noticeable channel constriction was at and immediately downstream from the 

bridges, and the left (north) bank seemed to be covered with 

stone revetment (fig. 42).

A large scour hole near the main channel piers 

(fig. 42) that essentially encompasses both piers had a minimum channel-bed elevation of about 668 ft (table 6), which 

also was the minimum channel-bed elevation for the entire 

reach (table 5). The main channel piers were skewed to the 

approaching flow, which caused a wide scour hole with 

somewhat unique characteristics as compared to scour holes 

at the other surveyed bridges. Pier 5 of structure L0568 was 

in the wake of pier 2C of structure A4757 and, therefore, had 

a poorly defined scour hole near it (fig. 42). At the upstream 

end of pier 2C of structure A4757, the minimum channel-bed 

elevation was about 668 ft, and at the upstream end of pier 

5 of structure L0568, the minimum channel-bed elevation 

was about 674 ft (fig. 42; table 6). Information from bridge 

plans indicates that the main channel pier of structure A4757 

is founded on shafts drilled 20 ft into bedrock (fig. 44), with 

about 49 ft of bed material between the bottom of the scour 

hole and bedrock at the point of minimum elevation of the 

scour hole near the upstream pier face (fig. 44; table 6). At 

the point of minimum elevation, the surveyed channel bed 

was about 2 ft above the bottom of the seal course elevation 

of 666.26 ft (table 6). Information from bridge plans indicate 

that the main channel pier of structure L0568 is a caisson on 

bedrock (fig. 45), with about 56 ft of bed material between the 

bottom of the scour hole and bedrock at the point of minimum 

elevation of the scour hole near the upstream pier face (fig. 45; 

table 6).

The difference between the survey on June 4, 2015, 

and the previous survey on July 19, 2011 (fig. 46), indicates 

moderate deposition throughout the reach from 2011 to 2015, 

with an average difference of +1.33 ft between the bathymetric surfaces (table 7). The net volume of cut in the reach 

from 2011 to 2015 was about 59,400 yd3

, and the net volume 

of fill was about 126,200 yd3, resulting in a net gain of about 

66,800 yd3 of sediment between 2011 and 2015. There was 

moderate deposition of over 10 ft on the right (south) side of 

the main channel piers and throughout most of the (north) side 

of the channel in 2015 (fig. 46); however, substantial scour 

of more than 15 ft had was observed in the upstream channel, 

and minor scour was observed along the right (south) side of 

the channel (fig. 46). The cross section from the 2015 survey 

compared to the 2011 survey also shows deposition throughout most of the left side of the channel and on the right side 

of the main channel piers, with minor scour on the right side 

(figs. 44 and 45). The frequency distribution of bed elevations 

was substantially narrower in 2015 than in 2011, with a higher 

minimum channel-bed elevation than in 2011 (fig. 43). The 

scour hole near pier 2C of structure A4757 was substantially 

Structure A4757 and L0568 are dual bridges on State Highway 291, 

crossing the Missouri River at river mile 352.7 on the northeastern side of the Kansas City, Missouri metropolitan area.
58 Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys at Highway Bridges Crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri

94°23'35"

94°23'30"

94°23'50"

94°23'45"

94°23'40"

39°10'05"

39°10'

39°10'10"

FLOW

Base from National Agriculture Imagery Program, 2014

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 15 North

Horizontal coordinate information referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)

Vertical coordinate information referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

0 50 100 150 200 250 FEET

0 25 50 75 METERS

June 4, 2015

112,000 cubic feet per second

715.9 feet above NAVD 88

Survey date

Discharge

Average water-surface elevation

Channel-bed elevation,

 in feet above NAVD 88

EXPLANATION

715

710

705

700

695

690

685

680

675

670

665

660

$

No data

Cross section shown

in figure 44

A

A' Cross section shown

in figure 45

B

B'

A4757

Pier 2C

Stone revetment

Stone revetment

L0568

Pier 5

A4757

Pier 1C L0568

Pier 6

Longitudinal sections

 shown in figure 51

C C' D D'

Figure 42. Bathymetric survey of the Missouri River channel near structures A4757 and L0568 on State Highway 291 near Kansas City, Missouri.
Results of Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys 59

narrower and shallower in 2015 than in 2011 (figs. 44 and 46), 

whereas the scour hole near pier 5 of structure L0568 was of 

a similar shape but substantially shallower in 2015 than in 

2011 (figs. 45 and 46). The stone revetment on the left (north) 

bank showed no signs of substantial change, whereas the right 

(south) bank near the bridges and downstream showed signs of 

localized deposition and scour (fig. 46). As with all difference 

maps presented in this report, substantial deposition or scour 

apparent at the faces of the piers results from minor horizontal 

positional variances between the surveys (see “Uncertainty 

Estimation” section).

The difference between the survey on June 4, 2015, and 

the previous nonflood survey on March 18, 2010 (fig. 47), 

indicates moderate scour throughout the reach from 2010 

to 2015, with an average difference of -0.92 ft between the 

bathymetric surfaces (table 7). The net volume of cut in the 

reach from 2010 to 2015 was about 103,300 yd3, and the net 

volume of fill was about 58,200 yd3, resulting in a net loss of 

about 45,100 yd3 of sediment between 2010 and 2015. There 

were a few areas of deposition, predominantly along the left 

(north) side of the downstream reach and in the scour hole 

around main channel piers 2C and 5 between 2010 and 2015 

(fig. 47); however, there was widespread scour throughout 

the upstream channel and along the right (south) side of the 

downstream reach. The cross sections from the 2015 survey 

generally were more similar to the 2010 survey than the 2011 

survey at both bridges (figs. 44 and 45). The frequency distribution of bed elevations was slightly narrower in 2015 than 

in 2010, with a higher minimum channel-bed elevation and 

a greater percentage of survey-grid cells at a lower elevation 

than 2010 (fig. 43). The scour hole near main channel piers 2C 

and 5 was substantially shallower and slightly narrower at the 

top in 2015 than in 2010 (figs. 44, 45, and 47). The localized 

scour observed at the stone revetment on the left (north) bank 

observed between 2010 and 2011 (Huizinga, 2012) also is 

evident (fig. 47). As with all difference maps presented in this 

report, substantial deposition or scour apparent at the faces of 

the piers results from minor horizontal positional variances 

between the surveys (see “Uncertainty Estimation” section).

The vertically averaged velocity vectors indicate mostly 

uniform flow throughout the reach, ranging from about 2 ft/s 

along the inside of the bend on the right (south) bank to about 

9 ft/s in the thalweg (fig. 48). Exceptions to uniform flow 

include flows angled to the left (north) near the upstream and 

downstream faces of the bridges (fig. 48). Moderate turbulence also was observed in several transects, particularly near 

the bank protrusions near the bridges and downstream from 

the main channel piers (fig. 48). Velocities were slightly lower 

downstream from the bridges, likely caused by the flow expansion downstream from the constriction at the bridges (fig. 48).

Figure 43. Frequency distribution of bed elevations for bathymetric survey-grid cells on the Missouri River near structures 

A4757 and L0568 on State Highway 291 near Kansas City, Missouri, on June 4, 2015, compared to previous surveys. Percent of total survey-grid cells Cumulative percent of survey-grid cells lower than indicated elevation

Elevation, in feet above North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

660 670 680 690 700 710 720 730

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

1.2

1.4

EXPLANATION

Frequency distribution

[ft3/s, cubic foot per second]

2015 survey data;

 73,000 ft3/s

2011 survey data;

 213,000 ft3/s

2010 survey data;

 129,000 ft3/s

Cumulative percent

2015 survey data;

 73,000 ft3/s

2011 survey data;

 213,000 ft3/s

2010 survey data;

 129,000 ft3/s
Figure 44. Key features, substructural and superstructural details, and surveyed channel bed of structure A4757 on State Highway 291 crossing tKansas City, Missouri.

Pier 1C

Pier 2C

Footing

Sealcourse

Drilledshafts

Column

Pedestal

Pedestal

Footing

Seal course

Drilledshafts

Column

450 500 550 600 650 700 750 800 850 900 950 1,000 1,050 1,100 1,150 1,200 1,250 1,30

Distance from fill face of left (north) abutment, in feet

700725650625600

575

675775750800

Elevation,infeet above North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

Part of bridge shown above

Survey is along cross-section line shown in figure 

A 

Approximate ground line from Level II scour survey 

Approximate ground line from 1993 bridge plans

Channel bed from 2015 multibeam surveyChannel bed from 2011 multibeam surveyChannel bed from 2010 multibeam survey

Average water surface during 2015 survey (715.9 feet above NAVD 88)Average water surface during 2011 survey (726.7 feet above NAVD 88)Average water surface during 2010 survey (717.2 feet above NAVD 88)

Approximate top of bedrock (from core logs)

Substructural and superstru

 and top of bedro

 Department of 
Figure 45. Key features, substructural and superstructural details, and surveyed channel bed of structure L0568 on State Highway 291 crossing thKansas City, Missouri.

Pier 6

Pier 5

Caisson

Column

Pedestal

Pedestal

Caisson

Column

450 500 550 600 650 700 750 800 850 900 950 1,000 1,050 1,100 1,150 1,200 1,250 1,30

Distance from fill face of left (north) abutment, in feet

700725650625600

575

675775750800

Elevation,infeet above North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

Part of bridge shown above

Approximate ground line from 1946 bridge plans

Approximate ground line from Level II

scour survey on 11/06/2002

Approximate top of bedrock (from core logs)

Survey is along cross-section line shown in figur

B 

Substructural and superstru

 and top of bedro

 Department of 

Average water surface during 2015 survey (715.9 feet above NAVD 88)Average water surface during 2011 survey (726.7 feet above NAVD 88)Average water surface during 2010 survey (717.2 feet above NAVD 88)

Channel bed from 2015 multibeam surveyChannel bed from 2011 multibeam surveyChannel bed from 2010 multibeam survey
Figure 46. Difference between surfaces created from bathymetric surveys of the Missouri River channel near structures A4757 and L0568 on State Highway 291 near Kansas City, Missouri, on June 4, 2015, and July 19, 2011.

94°23'35"

94°23'50" 94°23'45" 94°23'40"

39°10'05"

39°10'

39°10'10"

FLOW

Base from National Agriculture Imagery Program, 2014Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 15 NorthHorizontal coordinate information referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)Vertical coordinate information referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

0 50 0 

EXPLANATION

Change in channel-bed elevation, in feet 

-45 -30 -20 -15 -10 -7 -5 -3 -1 1 3 5 7 10 15 20 30

SCOUR DEPOSITION

No data $

Cross section shown

in figure 44

A

A'

Cross section shown

in figure 45

B

B'

A4757

Pier 2C

Stone revetment

Stone revetment

L0568

Pier 5

A4757

Pier 1C L0568 Pier 6
Figure 47. Difference between surfaces created from bathymetric surveys of the Missouri River channel near structures A4757 and L0568 on near Kansas City, Missouri, on June 4, 2015, and March 18, 2010.

94°23'35"

94°23'50" 94°23'45" 94°23'40"

39°10'05"

39°10'

39°10'10"

FLOW

Base from National Agriculture Imagery Program, 2014Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 15 NorthHorizontal coordinate information referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)Vertical coordinate information referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

0 50 0 

EXPLANATION

Change in channel-bed elevation, in feet 

-45 -30 -20 -15 -10 -7 -5 -3 -1 1 3 5 7 10 15 20 30

SCOUR DEPOSITION

No data $

Cross section shown

in figure 44

A

A'

Cross section shown

in figure 45

B

B'

A4757

Pier 2C

Stone revetment

Stone revetment

L0568

Pier 5
64 Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys at Highway Bridges Crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri

Figure 48. Bathymetry and vertically averaged velocities of the Missouri River channel near structures A4757 and L0568 on State Highway 291 near Kansas City, Missouri.

94°23'35"

94°23'30"

94°23'50"

94°23'45"

94°23'40"

39°10'05"

39°10'

39°10'10"

FLOW

Base from National Agriculture Imagery Program, 2014

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 15 North

Horizontal coordinate information referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)

Vertical coordinate information referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

0 50 100 150 200 250 FEET

0 25 50 75 METERS

June 4, 2015

112,000 cubic feet per second

715.9 feet above NAVD 88

Survey date

Discharge

Average water-surface elevation

Channel-bed elevation,

 in feet above NAVD 88

EXPLANATION

715

710

705

700

695

690

685

680

675

670

665

660

$

0−1

1−2

2−3

3−4

4−5

5−6

6−7

7−8

8−9

9−10

10−11

11−12

Vertically averaged velocity, 

 in feet per second

No data

Cross section shown

in figure 44

A

A' Cross section shown

in figure 45

B

B'

A4757

Pier 2C

Stone revetment

Stone revetment

L0568

Pier 5

A4757

Pier 1C L0568

Pier 6
Results of Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys 65

General Findings and Implications

Several of the findings at each surveyed bridge were 

common to all of the bridges, and some findings were evident only when results of the surveys were examined as a 

set. These general findings are of benefit in the assessment of 

scour at the surveyed bridges, as well as other bridges in the 

vicinity or in similar settings.

Effects of Low to Moderate Flooding Compared 

to Previous Surveys

Richardson and Davis (2001) separate long-term aggradation and degradation of a channel from the contraction 

and local scour that happens at a bridge site during floods. 

Contraction scour is the general change in the channel-bed 

elevation across a bridge opening resulting from the passage 

of a flood through a constriction, where more material is in 

suspension and transport. Local scour is the localized erosion 

of material caused by flow vortex action that forms near bridge 

piers and abutments. Although all of the scour processes (long 

term, contraction, and local scour) continually are at work, 

contraction and local scour generally are cyclic for the livebed scour typically observed in alluvial channels and generally 

result in a decrease and subsequent increase of the channelbed elevation during the passage of a flood.

As stated in the introductory comments of the “Results of 

Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys” section above, a wide 

variety of factors influence the channel-bed configuration of 

a reach for a given discharge (Gilbert, 1914). Because of the 

myriad number and interactions of factors affecting sediment 

transport conditions and the resultant bed configuration, it is 

recognized as simplistic to assume that the configuration and 

size of bed forms observed during the current (2015) surveys 

near Kansas City (fig. 1) are dependent only upon the instantaneous discharge at a given site. While it is beyond the scope 

of the current (2015) study to examine all of the antecedent 

conditions that created the observed channel-bed configuration, the following discussion attempts to draw conclusions 

based on the conditions observed at each site during the current (2015) and previous surveys.

A comparison of the dune sizes at the various sites is 

indicative of the different flow regimes between 2011 and 

2015. Whereas many of the surveys in the 2011 had a planar bed area and large to very large dune features, the 2015 

surveys were filled throughout with mostly medium to small 

dune features and ripples (figs. 6, 12, 18, 24, 29, 35, and 42). 

The largest dune features in the 2015 surveys were observed at 

structures A0767 (site 12, fig. 35), and A4757/L0568 (site 13, 

fig. 42), which were surveyed on the rising limb of a substantial flood (fig. 2). The smaller size and amplitude of the dune 

features compared to 2011 indicates less bed-material and 

bedload transport because of the lower flow values (Simons 

and others, 1965).

Many flood durations on the Missouri River near Kansas 

City can be measured in days to weeks because of the large 

upstream contributing drainage area; however, as described 

in the “Description of Flow Conditions” section earlier in this 

report, most of the surveys in this study happened during a 

trough between flood rises during generally higher summer 

flows (fig. 2), and the measured discharge at these sites was 

the lowest compared to previous surveys. The fixed scour 

monitors on structures L0550 and A4497 at Jefferson City, 

Mo., located about 200 river miles downstream from the 

Kansas City metropolitan area, discussed in Huizinga (2014) 

indicate that many of the local scour holes observed at the 

upstream nose of the piers at that site did not fill in rapidly 

after the recession of a flood (see fig. 35, Huizinga [2014]); 

nevertheless, flood recession generally leads to deposition and 

not additional scour. Examining results based purely on instantaneous discharge and ignoring effects from antecedent flow 

conditions, it might be reasonable to assume that the scour 

holes near the piers and the general scour observed under the 

bridge crossings might be of an equal to lesser magnitude 

than that observed during the previous surveys during the July 

2011 flood and during moderate flooding in 2010; however, 

this assumption did not consistently prove to be true, particularly with respect to the depth of observed scour near the piers 

when compared to results from the 2011 flood.

Flow rate during the 2015 surveys ranged from about 43 

to 56 percent of the 2011 flow rate, and water-surface elevations were about 10 to 15 ft lower in 2015 than in 2011 (table 

7). Flow rate during the 2015 surveys ranged from about 71 

to 93 percent of the 2010 flow rate, and water-surface elevations were about 1 to 4 ft lower in 2015 than in 2010 (table 7); 

however, the average difference (statistical mean) between the 

bathymetric surfaces varied from 3.8 ft lower to 1.8 ft higher 

in 2015 than 2011, and varied from 1.5 ft lower to 1.1 ft higher 

in 2015 than 2010 (table 7). At structures K0456/A0450 (site 

7; table 1), A4649 (site 8), A4060 (site 9), and A5817 (site 

11), the channel bed was at a temporal minimum in 2010 and 

a temporal maximum in 2011 when the average channel-bed 

elevation is examined with time (fig. 49); the 2015 average 

channel-bed elevation fell between the two previous surveys. 

These sites all had a negative average difference between the 

bathymetric surfaces from 2015 to 2011, and a positive average difference between 2015 and 2010 (table 7). In contrast, at 

structures A7650 (site 10), A0767 (site 12), and A4757/L0568 

(site 13), the channel bed was at a temporal minimum in 2011 

and a temporal maximum in 2015; these sites all had a positive 

average difference between the bathymetric surfaces from 

2015 to 2011 and a negative average difference between 2015 

and 2010 (table 7). This configuration of average channel-bed 

elevations and average differences shows that greater discharge alone does not necessarily result in more scour at a site 

(as would be evidenced by lower average channel-bed elevations with increased discharge). It was hypothesized in the 

2011 flood study at Kansas City (Huizinga, 2012) that perhaps 

a plug of sediment was traveling through the upstream part of 

the Kansas City area during course of the 2011 surveys; the 

results of the current (2015) surveys may imply this plug of 

sediment had been eroded away between 2011 and 2015.
66 Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys at Highway Bridges Crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri

Of particular interest is the local spatial minimum 

observed for the average channel-bed elevations near structure 

A7650 (site 10) irrespective of time (fig. 49). Whereas the 

sites immediately upstream and downstream from structures 

A4060 (site 9) and A7650 (site 10) display evidence of the 

hypothetical “plug” of sediment in the Kansas City area during 

the 2011 flood, it is less apparent at structure A4060 and not 

apparent at structure A7650 (fig. 49); furthermore, although 

the average channel-bed elevation in 2015 is similar to 2011 at 

structure A7650, the average difference between the bathymetric surfaces from 2015 to 2011 is positive (figs. 25 and 

27), indicating moderate deposition throughout that bridge 

reach from 2011 to 2015. The average difference between the 

bathymetric surfaces at structure A4060 from 2015 to 2011 is 

negative (figs. 19 and 21), indicating moderate degradation 

throughout that bridge reach from 2011 to 2015.

The local spatial minimum at structure A7650 (site 10) 

may indicate this site is at or near a local feature that controls 

sediment deposition and scour. The feature may be a combination of the minor constriction at this site (fig. 24) and being 

near the downstream end of the relatively straight reach of 

river between structures A4649 and A7650 (fig 1); furthermore, perhaps the sediment unable to deposit near structure 

A7650 is flushed downstream and deposits at the next downstream site, structure A5817 (site 11), as indicated by the average channel bed curve (fig. 49).

An examination of the frequency distributions of the 

2015 surveys compared to the previous surveys reveals 

additional differences that may be the result of flow conditions 

during the 2015 surveys (fig. 50). The frequency distributions 

generally were narrower in the 2015 survey than in either the 

2010 or 2011 survey at each site, with a higher percentage 

of survey-grid cells in a particular elevation range (fig. 50A). 

The narrower distribution curves result in generally steeper 

accumulation curves in 2015 than in 2010 or 2011 (fig. 50B). 

Accumulation curves that are steep indicate a channel bed 

with a narrower range of elevations (more level throughout the 

reach), whereas those that are less steep indicate a wider variation of elevations. Accumulation curves with “steps” indicate a 

channel with distinct groups of elevations, such as thalweg on 

one side and a shallow area on the opposite side of the channel 

(such as structure A1800, figs. 6 and 7). 

The frequency distributions seem to confirm the hypothetical scenario of a sediment control feature near structure 

A7650 postulated in the average channel-bed elevation curve 

discussion above. The frequency distribution curves for 

structures A4060 and A7650 have local maxima with a higher 

percentage of survey-grid cells than other sites (fig. 50A), 

and the accumulation curves for these two sites are steeper 

than the other surveys in the area (fig. 50B), which indicates 

a more level bed with less variation in elevation at these sites. 

As would be expected, these maxima are at a lower elevation 

than sites upstream from them and generally at a higher elevation than most of sites downstream; however, the distribution 

curve for downstream structure A5817 consistently has a local 

maximum that is at a higher elevation than the two upstream 

Figure 49. Average channel-bed and water-surface elevations near bridges on the Missouri River near Kansas City, 

Missouri, from surveys in 2010, 2011, and 2015. Elevation, in feet above North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

River mile

375 370 365 360 355 350

680

690

700

710

720

730

740

750

EXPLANATION

Average water-surface

 elevation

[ft3/s, cubic feet per second]

2015 survey data

2011 survey data

2010 survey data

Average channel-bed

 elevation

2015 survey data

2011 survey data

2010 survey data

K0456/A0450, site 7

A1800, site 6

A4649, site 8A4060, site 9

A7650, site 10A5817, site 11A0767, site 12

A4757/L0568, site 13
Results of Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys 67

Figure 50. Comparison of frequency distribution and cumulative percent of bed elevations for bathymetric survey-grid 

cells from various surveys on the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri. A, frequency distribution. B, cumulative 

percent.

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

Elevation, in feet above North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

660 670 680 690 700 710 720 730 740

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Cumulative percent of survey-grid cells lower than indicated elevation 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Percent of total survey-grid cells

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

660 670 680 690 700 710 720 730 740

EXPLANATION

A. Frequency distribution B. Cumulative percent

2010 survey 2010 survey

2011 survey 2011 survey

2015 survey 2015 survey

Structure A1800, site 6

Structure A4649, site 8

Structure A4060, site 9

Structure A7650, site 10

Structure A5817, site 11

Structure A0767, site 12

Structures A4757/L0568,

 site 13

EXPLANATION

Structure A1800, site 6

Structure A4649, site 8

Structure A4060, site 9

Structure A7650, site 10

Structure A5817, site 11

Structure A0767, site 12

Structures A4757/L0568,

 site 13
68 Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys at Highway Bridges Crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri

Figure 51. Longitudinal profiles upstream from selected piers at bridges crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, 

Missouri. A, structure A1800, pier 3. B, structure A4649, pier 2. C, structure A4060, pier 5. D, structure A4060, pier 6. E, structure 

A7650, main pylon. F, structure A5817, pier 2. G, structure A5817, pier 3. H, structure A0767, pier 7. I, structure A4757, pier 2C. 

J, structure L0568, pier 5. 

A. Structure A1800, Pier 3

B B'

Footing

Seal course

Drilled

shaft

Face of

pedestal

B. Structure A4649, Pier 2

B B'

Face of

Caisson

C. Structure A4060, Pier 5

B B'

Footing

Seal course

Face of

column

Drilled shaft

D. Structure A4060, Pier 6

C C'

Footing

Seal course

Face of

column

Drilled shaft

E. Structure A7650, Main Pylon

B B'

Footing

Seal course

Face of

pedestal

Drilled

shaft

Pile of

riprap

F. Structure A5817, Pier 2

B B'

Footing

Face of

pedestal

Seal course

Drilled shaft

G. Structure A5817, Pier 3

C C'

Footing

Face of

pedestal

Seal course

Drilled shaft

H. Structure A0767, Pier 7

B B'

Face of column

Footing

Seal course

Drilled shaft

C C'

I. Structure A4757, Pier 2C

Footing

Seal course

Drilled shaft

Face of

pedestal

J. Structure L0568, Pier 5

D D'

Face of

caisson

Channel-bed elevation , in feet above North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

Distance upstream from pier face, in feet

660

665

670

675

680

685

690

695

680

685

690

695

700

705

710

715

680

685

690

695

700

705

710

715

675

680

685

690

695

700

705

710

685

690

695

700

705

710

715

720

685

690

695

700

705

710

715

720

685

690

695

700

705

710

715

720

690

695

700

705

710

715

720

725

675

680

685

690

695

700

705

710

660

665

670

675

680

685

690

695

60 50 40 30 20 10 0 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

60 50 40 30 20 10 0

EXPLANATION

Channel bed from 2015 bathymetric

 surveys, in feet above North

 American Vertical Datum of 1988

Channel bed from 2011 bathymetric

 surveys, in feet above North

 American Vertical Datum of 1988

Channel bed from 2010 bathymetric

 surveys, in feet above North

 American Vertical Datum of 1988

Approximate frontal slope line

Pier substructural elements
Summary and Conclusions 69

sites, and the accumulation curve is to the right of (implying 

a higher elevation than) several of the upstream sites in the 

surveys (fig. 50B).

Size and Shape of Scour Holes

Scour holes were observed at most piers in the main 

channel area, except those on banks or surrounded by riprap 

or debris rafts. As discussed in summaries of previous bathymetric surveys in Missouri (Huizinga, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 

2015), the size and shape of these holes often was different 

from pier to pier because pier scour is a function of several 

factors, including the depth and velocity of approach flow, the 

width and nose shape of the pier, and the angle of approach 

flow (Richardson and Davis, 2001). Several of these factors 

are discussed below.

A longitudinal profile was drawn upstream from the nose 

of each pier with a well-defined scour hole (fig. 51), and the 

approximate frontal slope (computed as horizontal distance 

over vertical distance, or run over rise, for relatability to highway embankment slopes) was determined for each hole (table 

6). The frontal slope was not determined for piers with poorly 

defined scour holes.

The approximate frontal slope of the well-defined scour 

holes ranged from 1.69 to 2.26 (fig. 51; table 6); however, the 

hole with the largest slope value—or the shallowest frontal 

slope—(2.26 at structure A4060 pier 6; figs. 18 and 51D; table 

6]) was observed at a pier that in earlier surveys seemed to 

be surrounded by riprap or rock and may not be indicative of 

scour of purely fluvial material; furthermore, the scour hole at 

this pier likely is affected by flow around the upstream railroad 

bridge pier (fig. 18). The mean value of the frontal slopes is 

1.91. Richardson and Davis (2001) noted that the side slope of 

a scour hole in cohesionless sand in air could range from 1.0 

to 1.8 depending on the composition of the bed material and 

its dry angle of repose, and suggest using a value of 2.0 for 

design purposes to account for the wet angle of repose. The 

slope values determined in the current (2015) study generally 

are similar to the values noted in Richardson and Davis (2001) 

and to values determined for scour holes in similar studies 

(Huizinga, 2010, 2011, 2015), and are similar to previous 

surveys at these sites (fig. 51).

Several of the surveyed bridges had piers that were 

skewed to approach flow, resulting in asymmetric scour holes 

at those bridges: pier 3 of structure A1800 on Interstate 635 

(fig. 6); pier 2 of structure A4649 on U.S. Highway 169 (fig. 

12); the railroad bridge pier upstream from pier 6 of structure 

A4060 on State Route 9 (fig. 18); the main channel pylon 

of structure A7650 on Interstate 35 (fig. 24); and pier 2C 

of structure A4757 and pier 5 of structure L0568 on State 

Highway 291 (fig. 42). At all of the structures except A7650, 

the scour hole was deeper and longer on the side of the pier 

with impinging flow, with some amount of deposition on the 

leeward side, as typically has been observed at piers skewed 

to approach flow; however, at structure A7650, the scour hole 

was deeper and longer on the leeward side of the pier, possibly 

because of a deflection and contraction of flow caused by 

the protruding left bank at the bridge (fig. 24). Although the 

velocities were not substantially affected by the constriction 

(fig. 28), there may be enough turbulence created by the pylon 

and constriction to pull sediment into suspension. At all of the 

structures, the skew to approach flow is apparent in the velocity vectors (figs. 11, 17, 23, 28, and 48). At structures A4757/

L0568, the skew seems to be partly caused by shear flow from 

the contraction of the right bank at the bridge (fig. 48).

In the previous bathymetric survey studies on the Missouri River in the Kansas City area (Huizinga, 2010, 2012), 

occasionally it was observed that the movement of bed material affected the shape of the scour holes at some of the bridges 

such that several of the scour holes displayed subtle “steps” 

and waves in the front of or along the sides of the holes. These 

“steps” are presumed to be caused by lateral or longitudinal 

sand input into a larger scour hole remnant (Huizinga, 2010, 

2012), perhaps during the receding limb of the hydrograph or 

a new flood event happening a short time after a more substantial flood event (a local temporal maxima). During the 

2011 flood study (Huizinga, 2012), the Missouri River was 

in moderate- to high-flow conditions at all the bridges that 

resulted in substantial and dynamic movement of bed material, 

yet “steps” and waves were observed at only a few bridges; 

however, no such “steps” or waves were observed in the present (2015) study, perhaps because of the timing of the surveys 

in the trough between higher flow conditions (fig. 2) with little 

infilling during the receding limb of the hydrograph from the 

previous higher flow.

Summary and Conclusions

Bathymetric and velocimetric data were collected on 

the Missouri River near 8 highway bridges at 7 crossings 

in Kansas City, Missouri, by the U.S. Geological Survey in 

cooperation with the Missouri Department of Transportation. 

A multibeam echosounder mapping system was used to 

obtain channel-bed elevations for areas ranging from 1,640 

to 1,660 feet longitudinally and generally extending across 

the active channel from bank to bank in the Missouri River 

during low to moderate flood flow conditions. These surveys 

document the channel-bed conditions and velocity distribution at the time of the surveys and provide characteristics of 

scour holes that may be useful in the development of predictive guidelines or equations for scour holes. These data also 

may be used by the Missouri Department of Transportation 

as a moderate-flow comparison to help assess the bridges for 

stability and integrity issues with respect to bridge scour during floods.

The estimated total propagated uncertainty for the 

bathymetric surface of each survey area was computed as an 

estimate of the accuracy to be expected for each point with all 

relevant error sources taken into account. An analysis of the 

surveys indicated that more than 91 percent of the bathymetric 
70 Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys at Highway Bridges Crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri

data at all the sites have a total propagated uncertainty of less 

than 1.00 feet, and nearly two-thirds (66 percent or more) of 

the channel bed elevations at the sites have a total propagated 

uncertainty of 0.50 feet or less.

At all the surveyed bridges, a variety of fluvial features 

were detected in the channel ranging from small ripples 

to large dunes that indicate moderate transport of bedload. 

Rock outcrops also were detected along one bank at several 

sites where the alluvial material of the channel bed had been 

washed away.

Bathymetric data were collected around every pier 

that was in water, except those at the edge of water or surrounded by a debris raft, and scour holes were observed at 

most surveyed piers. The observed scour holes at the surveyed 

bridges were examined with respect to shape and depth. 

Although exposure of parts of substructural support elements 

was observed at several piers, the exposure likely can be 

considered minimal compared to the overall substructure that 

remains buried in bed material at these piers.

Previous bathymetric surveys had been done at all the 

sites in this study. Comparisons between bathymetric surfaces 

from the previous surveys (in March 2010 and during the 2011 

flood) and those of this study do not indicate any consistent 

correlation in channel-bed elevations with flow conditions. 

Most of the surveys in the current (2015) study happened 

during a trough between flood rises during generally higher 

summer flows, and the measured discharge was the lowest 

compared to previous surveys; however, a simplified assumption of equal to lesser magnitude scour with lower discharge 

did not consistently prove to be true, particularly with respect 

to the depth of observed scour near the piers when compared 

to results from the 2011 flood. Flow rate during the 2015 surveys ranged from about 43 to 56 percent of the 2011 flow rate, 

and water-surface elevations were about 10 to 15 ft lower in 

2015 than in 2011. Flow rate during the 2015 surveys ranged 

from about 71 to 93 percent of the 2010 flow rate, and watersurface elevations were about 1 to 4 ft lower in 2015 than in 

2010; however, the average difference between the bathymetric surfaces varied from 3.8 ft lower to 1.8 ft higher in 2015 

than 2011, and varied from 1.5 ft lower to 1.1 ft higher in 2015 

than 2010.

A local spatial minimum average channel-bed elevation at structure A7650 (site 10) compared to adjacent sites 

may indicate this site is at or near a local feature that controls 

sediment deposition and scour. The feature may be a combination of the minor constriction at the site and being near 

the downstream end of the relatively straight reach of river; 

furthermore, the average channel-bed elevation values and 

the distribution of channel-bed elevations imply the sediment 

unable to deposit near structure A7650 is flushed downstream 

and deposits at the next downstream site, structure A5817 (site 

11).

The frontal slope values determined for scour holes 

observed in the current (2015) study generally are similar to 

recommended values in the literature and to values determined 

for scour holes in previous bathymetric surveys. Several of 

the structures had piers that were skewed to primary approach 

flow, and at most of the structures, the scour hole was deeper 

and longer on the side of the pier with impinging flow, with 

some amount of deposition on the leeward side, as typically 

has been observed at piers skewed to approach flow; however, 

at structure A7650 (site 10), the scour hole was deeper and 

longer on the leeward side of the pier, possibly because of a 

deflection and contraction of flow caused by a protrusion of 

the corresponding bank at the bridge.

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tools user guide, rev. 4: Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada, 

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during the 2011 flood: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific 

Investigations Report 2013–5087, 59 p. [Also available at 

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Dietsch, B.J., Densmore, B.K., and Strauch, K.R., 2014, 

Hydrographic surveys at selected highway bridges crossing the Missouri River using a multibeam echosounder, 

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U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 86, 263 p. [Also 

available at https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/pp86.]

Huizinga, R.J., 2010, Bathymetric surveys at highway bridges 

crossing the Missouri River in Kansas City, Missouri, using 

a multibeam echo sounder, 2010: U.S. Geological Survey 

Scientific Investigations Report 2010–5207, 61 p. [Also 

available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2010/5207/.]
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Huizinga, R.J., 2011, Bathymetric surveys at highway bridges 

crossing the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers near St. Louis, 

Missouri, 2010: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2011–5170, 75 p. [Also available at http://

pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2011/5170/.]

Huizinga, R.J., 2012, Bathymetric and velocimetric surveys 

at highway bridges crossing the Missouri River in and 

into Missouri during summer flooding, July–August 2011: 

U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 

2012–5204, 166 p. [Also available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/

sir/2012/5204/.]

Huizinga, R.J., 2013, Results of repeat bathymetric and 

velocimetric surveys at the Amelia Earhart Bridge on U.S. 

Highway 59 over the Missouri River at Atchison, Kansas, 

2009–2013: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2013–5177, 50 p. [Also available at http://

pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2013/5177.]

Huizinga, R.J., 2014, Bathymetric and velocimetric surveys 

at highway bridges crossing the Missouri River between 

Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri, April–May, 2013: U.S. 

Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2014–

5116, 79 p. [Also available at http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/

sir20145116.]

Huizinga, R.J., 2015, Bathymetric and velocimetric surveys at 

highway bridges crossing the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers on the periphery of Missouri, June 2014: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2015–5048, 

81 p. [Also available at http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/

sir20155048.]

Huizinga, R.J., Elliott, C.M., and Jacobson, R.B., 2010, Bathymetric and velocimetric survey and assessment of habitat 

for pallid sturgeon on the Mississippi River in the vicinity 

of the proposed Interstate 70 Bridge at St. Louis, Missouri: 

U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 

2010–5017, 28 p. [Also available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/

sir/2010/5017/.]

Huizinga, R.J., and Rydlund, P.H., Jr., 2004, Potential-scour 

assessments and estimates of scour depth using different 

techniques at selected bridge sites in Missouri: U.S. 

Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 

2004–5213, 42 p. [Also available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/

sir/2004/5213/.]

HYPACK, Inc., 2015, HYPACK® Hydrographic survey software user’s manual 02/15: Middletown, Conn., HYPACK, 

Inc., 2,041 p.

Lagasse, P.F., Shall, J.D., Johnson, F., Richardson, E.V., 

Richardson, J.R., and Chang, F., 1991, Stream stability at 

highway structures: U.S. Federal Highway Administration 

Publication FHWA–IP–90–014, Hydraulic Engineering 

Circular no. 20, 195 p.

Mueller, D.S., Wagner, C.R., Rehmel, M.S., Oberg, K.A., and 

Rainville, Francois, 2013, Measuring discharge with acoustic Doppler current profilers from a moving boat (ver. 2.0, 

December 2013): U.S. Geological Survey Techniques and 

Methods, book 3, chap. A22, 95 p. [Also available at http://

dx.doi.org/10.3133/tm3A22.]

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3.01): National Marine Electronics Association, 88 p.

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B.L., Oberg, K.A., Best, J.L., Mueller, D.S., Johnson, K.K., 

and Riley, J.D., 2013, Velocity Mapping Toolbox (VMT)—

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dx.doi.org/10.1002/esp.3367.]

Richardson, E.V., and Davis, S.R., 2001, Evaluating scour at 

bridges (4th ed.): U.S. Federal Highway Administration 

Publication FHWA NHI 01–001, Hydraulic Engineering 

Circular no. 18, 378 p.

Rydlund, P.H., Jr., 2009, Real-time river channel-bed monitoring at the Chariton and Mississippi Rivers in Missouri, 

2007–09: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations 

Report 2009–5254, 27 p. [Also available at http://pubs.usgs.

gov/sir/2009/5254/.]

Simons, D.B., Richardson, E.V., and Nordin, C.F., Jr., 1965, 

Bedload equation for ripples and dunes: U.S. Geological 

Survey Professional Paper 462–H, 9 p. [Also available at 

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System flow frequency study, appendix E: Rock Island, Ill., 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, accessed December 2014 

at http://www.mvr.usace.army.mil/Portals/48/docs/FRM/

UpperMissFlowFreq/App.%20E%20Kansas%20City%20

Dist.%20Hydrology_Hydraulics.pdf.

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design—Hydrographic surveying: Washington D.C., U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers, manual no. EM 1110–2–1003, 

560 p.

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Water Information System of the U.S. Geological Survey—Automated Data Processing System (ADAPS): U.S. 

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ofr03123/.

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System: U.S. Geological Survey database, accessed December 2015 at http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/.

Appendixes 1 and 2
74 Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys at Highway Bridges Crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri

Appendix 1—Bathymetric Data 

Reproducibility Test Results 

As explained in the “Survey Quality-Assurance/Quality 

Control Measures” section of the main text, a series of surveys 

(hereinafter referred to as the “test surveys”) were completed 

over an area near the dam at Longview Lake near Kansas City, 

Missouri (fig. 1–1), as an additional quality-assurance measure. These surveys were completed using different surveying 

patterns and on different days to provide a set of bathymetric 

results that could be compared for reproducibility of bathymetric data collected with the multibeam mapping system 

(MBMS) used in this study. Upon further examination during 

processing, these surveys also provided an important test of 

the angular offset for roll of the transducer head of the multibeam echosounder (MBES). The results of these tests are useful for determining the reproducibility of surveys completed 

on lakes or rivers.

The area was surveyed twice on each of two test days, 

June 1 and June 5, 2015, using techniques detailed in the main 

text. The test surveys were completed on a lake because it was 

assumed the bed elevations would not substantively change 

between the various tests, thereby providing quantitative 

results of reproducibility. The reproducibility of bathymetric data is essentially impossible to quantify in the dynamic 

alluvial setting of a river because the elevation of a given 

location varies rapidly as the bedforms change in the flowing 

water. Because the test surveys were completed on a lake, a 

sound-velocity profile cast was made at the beginning of each 

survey day to account for variations in the sound-velocity 

profile with depth. The results of each day’s cast were used in 

the processing of the data for that day. As in surveys on the 

river, bathymetric data were obtained along transect lines. For 

the test surveys, the spacing between the lines was set to the 

anticipated mean depth to ensure nearly 100 percent overlap 

of the adjacent survey swaths to ensure complete coverage of 

the channel bed and minimize sonic “shadows.” A set of seven 

survey lines were oriented in a southwest to northeast direction, and another set of seven lines were oriented at 90 degrees 

to the first set (fig. 1–2). The bathymetric surface created 

by each set of seven survey lines was considered a separate 

surface, resulting in two different surfaces each test day for 

comparison purposes. Because of abrupt changes of elevation 

along the perimeter of the survey area, small portions of each 

bathymetric surface were missed during different aspects of 

the surveys, so the final data were cropped to a roughly square 

area for which data were present in each bathymetric surface 

for all of the surveys (fig. 1–2).

As in the surveys at bridges discussed in the main text, 

the navigation information from the test surveys was postprocessed using the POS-PacTM Mobile Mapping Suite (MMSTM) 

software (Applanix Corporation, 2009) to mitigate the effects 

of degraded positional accuracy of the vessel during the survey. The blended navigation solution (the “standard best estimate of travel” or “SBET” file) generated by postprocessing 

the navigation data was applied to the test surveys. The bathymetric data were further processed to apply the offsets determined from the patch tests and remove data spikes and other 

spurious points in the multibeam swaths through the use of 

automatic filters and manual editing. The georeferenced data 

were filtered and reduced to a 1.64-foot (ft) data resolution and 

output to comma-delimited files, one for each survey on each 

test date. These comma-delimited data were compiled into a 

geographic information system (GIS) database for comparison 

using the ArcGIS package (Environmental Systems Research 

Institute, 2013).

Angular Offset for Roll Tests

During initial processing, an angular offset for roll (hereinafter referred to as “roll angle”) of 2.45 degrees was used 

based on the results of the patch tests completed immediately 

before the test surveys; however, when examining the bathymetric data for one of the surfaces in profile as part of the 

normal processing routine, “tails” were evident on the ends of 

the lines in the profile view (fig. 1–3A), which is indicative of 

a roll angle error. Based on this apparent roll angle issue, the 

test survey data were reprocessed to attempt to determine the 

optimum roll angle that removed these tails. The optimum roll 

angle was -2.55 degrees for the June 1 data, and -2.50 degrees 

for the June 5 data, and these adjustments effectively removed 

the tails in the profile view (fig. 1–3B); therefore, these optimized roll angles were used to process the data from both test 

surveys on both test dates (this is hereinafter referred to as the 

“optimized roll angle data”). 

When the bathymetric surfaces from the optimized roll 

angle data were compared for reproducibility, anomalies in the 

difference maps seemed to be related to the orientation of the 

survey line groups being compared (fig. 1–4). If the second 

survey surface perfectly reproduced the first survey surface in 

the comparison, there would be a zero difference value for all 

the compared cells in the difference maps. A comparison of 

the first survey line group on the two test days (same direction, 

different days; fig. 1–4A) resulted in a difference map that 

seems to have a slight tilt as indicated by the positive differences on the northwest side of the survey area and the negative 

differences on the southeast side; however, a comparison of 

the second survey line group on the two test days (opposite 

direction, different days; fig. 1–4B) exhibited a strong alternating pattern between the survey lines, which is indicative 

of an incorrect roll angle. The largest differences between the 

surfaces happens at the midpoint between the survey lines, 

which implies that the outermost beams of one line swath were 

well aligned with the nadir beam of the adjacent swath (thus 

the lack of “tails” when looking at the surface in profile in 

fig. 1–3B), but any artifact introduced by using the optimized 

roll angle would be exacerbated between the survey lines. 

Comparison of the orthogonal survey line groups (figs. 1–4C, 

1–4D, 1–4E, and 1–4F) displayed a strong checkerboard 

pattern with the maximum difference being at the midpoint 
Appendix 1—Bathymetric Data Reproducibility Test Results 75

MISSOURI

LOCATION MAP

Map area

Missouri River

0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 FEET

0 200 400 600 800 METERS

94°29'30" 94°29' 94°28'30" 94°28' 94°27'30" 94°27'

38°55'

38°54'30"

38°54'

38°53'30"

Base from National Agriculture Imagery Program, 2014

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 15 North

Horizontal coordinate information referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)

Vertical coordinate information referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

Longview Lake

Survey

area

Area shown

in figures

1–2, 1–4,

1–5, and 1–7

fig1-1.ai

Figure 1–1. Location of test survey area on Longview Lake near Kansas City, Missouri, on June 1 and June 5, 2015.
76 Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys at Highway Bridges Crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri

0 50 100 150 200 250 FEET

0 20 40 60 80 METERS

94°28'05" 94°28' 94°27'55" 94°27'50"

38°55'15"

38°55'10"

38°55'05"

854

850

846

842

838

834

830

826

822

Channel-bed elevation

on June 1, 2015, in feet

above NAVD 88

Survey date and direction

EXPLANATION

6/5

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

6/1

6/1

6/1

6/1

6/1

6/1

6/1

6/5

6/5

6/5

6/5

6/5

6/5

6/5

6/1

6/1

6/1

6/1

6/1

6/1

6/1

6/5

6/5

6/5

6/5

6/5

6/5

6/5

Survey Line

Group 1

Survey Line

Group 2

Base from National Agriculture Imagery Program, 2014

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 15 North

Horizontal coordinate information referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)

Vertical coordinate information referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

fig1-2.ai Figure 1–2. Configuration of test survey area on Longview Lake near Kansas City, Missouri.
Figure 1–3. Screen-capture images of a profile through a bathymetric surface processed with an angular offset for roll. A, -2.45 degrees as determB, optimized to minimize “tails.”

A.

Apparent “tails” at

the end of the lines

B.
78 Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys at Highway Bridges Crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri

between survey lines, which further confirms the roll angle 

issue. Summary statistics for the six sets of difference data for 

the optimized roll angle data are in table 1–1.

The anomalous results in the optimized data prompted a 

reevaluation of the roll angle used to process the test surveys. 

An additional set of data was created using the roll angle of 

-2.45 degrees determined from the patch tests for the two 

surveys on the test dates (hereinafter referred to as the “corrected roll angle data”). This was the roll angle used when 

processing the river surveys (see table 3 in the main text). The 

comparison of the first survey line group on the two test days 

(same direction, different days; fig. 1–5A) once again resulted 

in a difference map that seems to have a slight tilt, as indicated by the positive differences on the northwest side of the 

survey area and the negative differences on the southeast side. 

A comparison of the second survey line group on the two test 

days (opposite direction, different days; fig. 1–5B) continued 

to exhibit a partial alternating pattern between the survey 

lines, but the largest differences between the surfaces happens immediately adjacent to the survey lines. The change in 

location of the largest difference implies the outermost beams 

of one line swath are more poorly-aligned with the nadir 

beam of the adjacent swath (creating the “tails” when looking at the surface in profile in fig. 1–3A), but alignment issues 

primarily seem to be limited to the outer beams. Comparison of the orthogonal survey line groups (figs. 1–5C, 1–5D, 

1–5E, and 1–5F) displayed a checkerboard pattern similar to 

the optimized roll angle data, but the location of the largest 

differences are once again adjacent to the survey lines, which 

implies the alignment issues seem to be limited to the outer 

beams. Summary statistics for the six sets of difference data 

for the corrected roll angle data are in table 1–1.

A final set of data for each of the two surveys on the 

test dates was created using the corrected roll angle of 

-2.45 degrees, but with data for outer beams (greater than 

60 degrees from nadir) cropped out (hereinafter referred to as 

the “cropped roll angle data”). Cropping the outer beam data 

limits potential errors caused by lack of alignment of the outer 

beams, and a profile view of the data reveal there were no tails 

on the individual survey lines (fig. 1–6). The comparison of 

the first survey line group on the two test days (same direction, 

different days; fig. 1–7A) once again resulted in a difference map that seems to have a slight tilt, as indicated by the 

positive differences on the northwest side of the survey area 

and the negative differences on the southeast side; however, 

the differences are smaller than with either the optimized roll 

angle data (fig. 1–4) or the corrected roll angle data (fig. 1–5), 

and the largest differences become more apparent on the slope 

near the southern tip of the survey area (figs.1–2 and 1–7A). 

The alternating pattern is substantially reduced from the comparison of the second survey line group on the two test days 

(opposite direction, different days; fig. 1–7B), as is the checkerboard pattern in the comparisons of the orthogonal survey 

line groups (figs. 1–7C, 1–7D, 1–7E, and 1–7F). Distinct lines 

along which the difference abruptly changes from positive 

to negative are present between several of the survey lines in 

most of the difference maps that compare to the second survey 

on June 1 (figs. 1–7B, 1–7C, and 1–7F). Summary statistics 

for the six sets of difference data for the cropped roll angle 

data are shown in table 1–1.

Each change in the configuration of the roll angle and 

cropping has an effect on the resultant bathymetric surface 

used in the comparisons; for example, removing the outer 

beams beyond 60 degrees from nadir in the cropped roll angle 

data (fig. 1–7) did not simply remove the pronounced differences observed in the corrected roll angle data (fig. 1–5), but 

rather altered the overall surfaces such that some areas that 

had a small negative difference in the corrected roll angle 

dataset (fig. 1–5) may exhibit a small positive difference in the 

cropped roll angle dataset (fig. 1–7).

Ultimately, examination of the summary statistics alone 

for the various roll angle configurations is not sufficient to 

determine the “best” roll configuration (table 1–1). If the statistics alone were used, the optimized roll angle data configuration has the overall smallest mean values in all the tests. The 

standard deviations for the optimized roll angle data, however, 

tend to be the largest; furthermore, the visual examination of 

the comparison tests discussed above indicates the optimized 

roll angle data has the most anomalous data.

It is hypothesized that the issue observed with the roll 

angle and resultant anomalies was caused by spatial variation 

in sound velocity with depth because the outer beams are particularly affected by subtle changes in the speed of sound with 

depth. A sound-velocity profile cast was completed immediately before the patch tests each survey date, in the deepest 

part of the lake just northeast of the test survey area; however, 

it has been observed in other lake surveys (Richard Huizinga, 

U.S. Geological Survey, unpub. data, 2016) that the soundvelocity profile can vary spatially during the summer, as the 

sun warms the surface of the lake particularly in shallow areas. 

The survey area was not very different from the area where 

the profile cast was taken, but perhaps a cooler pocket of water 

in the deepest area of the lake near the cast affected the lower 

part of the sound-velocity profile in a way that did not accurately represent the test survey area. The effect of the theorized 

different sound-velocity profile manifested as a roll error at 

the depths of the test survey area. Although the variation of 

speed of sound with depth can be a problem in still-water situations, such as on a lake because of the stratification of water 

temperature with depth, it is essentially nonexistent on rivers 

where natural and man-made features in the flow promote 

mixing, resulting in a more homogeneous temperature gradient throughout the water column with depth. The outer beams 

typically are observed to be unaffected in river surveys (they 

are observed to have reasonable good alignment of adjacent 

swaths) because of the more homogeneous temperatures, and 

typically have not been and were not cropped in the river 

surveys completed to date (2015).
Appendix 1—Bathymetric Data Reproducibility Test Results 79

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

A. Same direction, different days

6/1

6/5

2.56

0.029

-3.98

0.130

B. Opposite directions,different days

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

6/1

6/5

4.66

-0.002

-10.11

0.196

C. Orthogonal directions, same day, June 1

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

2.91

0.002

-4.89

0.167

D. Orthogonal directions, same day, June 5

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

3.83

-0.028

-10.28

0.204

E. Orthogonal directions, different days 1

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

3.24

0.001

-10.10

0.186

F. Orthogonal directions, different days 2

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

3.57

0.027

-4.64

0.175

94°28'05" 94°27'55" 94°27'50"

38°55'15"

38°55'10"

38°55'05"

94°28' 94°28'05" 94°27'55" 94°27'50"

38°55'15"

38°55'10"

38°55'05"

38°55'15"

38°55'10"

38°55'05"

94°28'

0 100 200FEET

0 20 40 60METERS

Change in channel-bed

elevation, in feet

Statistical values

for surface, in feet

Direction on survey

 line—direction

 above line is for

 6/1 survey, direction

 below line is for

 6/5 survey.

EXPLANATION

2

1

0.7

0.5

0.3

0.2

0.1

0.05

-0.05

-0.1

-0.2

-0.3

-0.5

-0.7

-1

-2

2.49

0.009

-2.85

0.116

Maximum

Mean

Minimum

Standard

 deviation

Base from National Agriculture Imagery Program, 2014

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 15 North

Horizontal coordinate information referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)

Vertical coordinate information referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

Figure 1–4. Difference maps for six comparison tests of bathymetric surfaces created using an optimized roll angle. A, same 

direction, different days. B, opposite directions, different days. C, orthogonal directions, same day, June 1. D, orthogonal directions, 

same day, June 5. E, orthogonal directions, different days 1. F, orthogonal directions, different days 2.
80 Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys at Highway Bridges Crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri

Reproducibility of Data

As stated in the Introduction to this appendix, the reproducibility of bathymetric data is essentially impossible to 

quantify in the dynamic alluvial setting of a river because the 

elevation of a given location varies rapidly as the bedforms 

change in the flowing water; therefore, the test surveys were 

completed on a lake because it was assumed the bed elevations 

would not substantively change between the various tests, 

thereby providing quantitative results of reproducibility.

As stated in previous section, if the second survey surface 

perfectly reproduced the first survey surface in the comparisons, there would be a zero difference value for all the compared cells in the difference maps; however, there are a multitude of factors that affect the final bathymetric surface created 

from a survey, and minor differences will result in differences 

between surveys of the same area. These factors include, 

but are not limited to, the following: the configuration of the 

inertial navigation system and the accuracy of the position 

and orientation solution; the configuration and accuracy of the 

MBES; and the configuration and accuracy of the measured 

offsets and lever arms of each component of the MBMS with 

relation to each other, and the ability to measure changes in 

this configuration. The accuracy of the position and orientation 

solution is affected by GNSS outages, satellite configuration 

during the survey, and abruptness of vessel maneuvers during 

the survey, among other things. Because the MBES measures 

time of travel rather than distance, the accuracy of the MBES 

is affected by changes to the speed of sound in water, whether 

spatially or with depth, or both. As discussed in the previous 

section, the outer beams are the most affected by variations 

in the speed of sound with depth. The effects are somewhat 

mitigated by measuring the speed of sound at the MBES 

transducer head, but the variations with depth need to be determined in still-water applications. All these variables and more 

can have an effect on the ultimate accuracy and reproducibility 

of bathymetric data obtained with a MBMS.

As mentioned in the main text, uncertainty in surveys can 

be estimated by computing the total propagated uncertainty 

(TPU) for each survey-grid cell in the bathymetric surface of 

each survey area, using the CUBE method (Calder and Mayer, 

2003). The CUBE method allows all random system component uncertainties and resolution effects to be combined and 

propagated through the data processing steps, which provides 

Table 1–1. Summary of difference results for bathymetric data at a 1.64-foot grid spacing from test surveys on Longview Lake near 

Kansas City, Missouri, on June 1 and June 5, 2015.

Test Comparison type

First date 

survey 

number

Second 

date survey 

number

Maximum 

value of 

difference

(foot)

Mean value 

of difference

(foot)

Minimum 

value of 

difference

(foot)

Standard 

deviation of 

difference

(foot)

"Optimized" roll angle

1 Same direction, different days 6/1 - 1 6/5 - 1 2.56 0.029 -3.98 0.130

2 Opposite direction, different days 6/1 - 2 6/5 - 2 4.66 -0.002 -10.11 0.196

3 Orthogonal directions, same day 1 6/1 - 1 6/1 - 2 2.91 0.002 -4.89 0.167

4 Orthogonal directions, same day 2 6/5 - 1 6/5 - 2 3.83 -0.028 -10.28 0.204

5 Orthogonal directions, different days 1 6/1 - 1 6/5 - 2 3.24 0.001 -10.10 0.186

6 Orthogonal directions, different days 2 6/1 - 2 6/5 - 1 3.57 0.027 -4.64 0.175

Corrected roll angle, -2.45 degrees, with no outer beam cropping

1 Same direction, different days 6/1 - 1 6/5 - 1 2.18 0.022 -2.87 0.147

2 Opposite direction, different days 6/1 - 2 6/5 - 2 4.38 0.005 -9.92 0.157

3 Orthogonal directions, same day 1 6/1 - 1 6/1 - 2 2.97 -0.004 -4.69 0.160

4 Orthogonal directions, same day 2 6/5 - 1 6/5 - 2 3.51 -0.020 -10.18 0.174

5 Orthogonal directions, different days 1 6/1 - 1 6/5 - 2 3.40 0.002 -9.88 0.154

6 Orthogonal directions, different days 2 6/1 - 2 6/5 - 1 3.32 0.025 -4.69 0.183

Cropped roll angle, -2.45 degrees, with 60 degrees outer beam cropping

1 Same direction, different days 6/1 - 1 6/5 - 1 2.49 0.009 -2.85 0.116

2 Opposite direction, different days 6/1 - 2 6/5 - 2 2.96 -0.035 -14.07 0.133

3 Orthogonal directions, same day 1 6/1 - 1 6/1 - 2 4.44 0.016 -4.71 0.118

4 Orthogonal directions, same day 2 6/5 - 1 6/5 - 2 3.05 -0.028 -14.19 0.152

5 Orthogonal directions, different days 1 6/1 - 1 6/5 - 2 2.25 -0.019 -14.11 0.135

6 Orthogonal directions, different days 2 6/1 - 2 6/5 - 1 2.79 -0.007 -4.32 0.140
Appendix 1—Bathymetric Data Reproducibility Test Results 81

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

A. Same direction, different days

6/1

6/5

2.18

0.022

-2.87

0.147

B. Opposite directions,different days

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

6/1

6/5

4.38

0.005

-9.92

0.157

C. Orthogonal directions, same day, June 1

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

2.97

-0.004

-4.69

0.160

D. Orthogonal directions, same day, June 5

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

3.51

-0.020

-10.18

0.174

E. Orthogonal directions, different days 1

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

3.40

0.002

-9.88

0.154

F. Orthogonal directions, different days 2

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

3.32

0.025

-4.69

0.183

94°28'05" 94°27'55" 94°27'50"

38°55'15"

38°55'10"

38°55'05"

94°28' 94°28'05" 94°27'55" 94°27'50"

38°55'15"

38°55'10"

38°55'05"

38°55'15"

38°55'10"

38°55'05"

94°28'

0 100 200FEET

0 20 40 60METERS

Change in channel-bed

elevation, in feet

Statistical values

for surface, in feet

Direction on survey

 line—direction

 above line is for

 6/1 survey, direction

 below line is for

 6/5 survey.

EXPLANATION

2

1

0.7

0.5

0.3

0.2

0.1

0.05

-0.05

-0.1

-0.2

-0.3

-0.5

-0.7

-1

-2

2.49

0.009

-2.85

0.116

Maximum

Mean

Minimum

Standard

 deviation

Base from National Agriculture Imagery Program, 2014

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 15 North

Horizontal coordinate information referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)

Vertical coordinate information referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

Figure 1–5. Difference maps for six comparison tests of bathymetric surfaces created using the corrected roll angle. A, same 

direction, different days. B, opposite directions, different days. C, orthogonal directions, same day, June 1. D, orthogonal directions, 

same day, June 5. E, orthogonal directions, different days 1. F, orthogonal directions, different days 2.
Figure 1–6. Screen-capture image of a profile through a bathymetric surface processed with the corrected roll angle and cropped to remove befrom nadir.
Appendix 1—Bathymetric Data Reproducibility Test Results 83

Figure 1–7. Difference maps for six comparison tests of bathymetric surfaces created using the cropped roll angle (corrected 

roll angle and cropped to remove beams beyond 60 degrees from nadir). A, same direction, different days. B, opposite directions, 

different days. C, orthogonal directions, same day, June 1. D, orthogonal directions, same day, June 5. E, orthogonal directions, 

different days 1. F, orthogonal directions, different days 2.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

A. Same direction, different days

6/1

6/5

2.49

0.009

-2.85

0.116

B. Opposite directions,different days

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

6/1

6/5

2.69

-0.035

-14.07

0.133

C. Orthogonal directions, same day, June 1

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

4.44

0.016

-4.71

0.188

D. Orthogonal directions, same day, June 5

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

3.05

-0.028

-14.19

0.152

E. Orthogonal directions, different days 1

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

2.25

-0.019

-14.11

0.135

F. Orthogonal directions, different days 2

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

2.79

-0.007

-4.32

0.140

94°28'05" 94°27'55" 94°27'50"

38°55'15"

38°55'10"

38°55'05"

94°28' 94°28'05" 94°27'55" 94°27'50"

38°55'15"

38°55'10"

38°55'05"

38°55'15"

38°55'10"

38°55'05"

94°28'

0 100 200FEET

0 20 40 60METERS

Change in channel-bed

elevation, in feet

Statistical values

for surface, in feet

Direction on survey

 line—direction

 above line is for

 6/1 survey, direction

 below line is for

 6/5 survey.

EXPLANATION

2

1

0.7

0.5

0.3

0.2

0.1

0.05

-0.05

-0.1

-0.2

-0.3

-0.5

-0.7

-1

-2

2.49

0.009

-2.85

0.116

Maximum

Mean

Minimum

Standard

 deviation

Base from National Agriculture Imagery Program, 2014

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 15 North

Horizontal coordinate information referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)

Vertical coordinate information referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)
84 Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys at Highway Bridges Crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri

a robust estimate of the spatial distribution of possible uncertainty within the survey area (Czuba and others, 2011); thus, 

the TPU of a point is a measure of the accuracy to be expected 

for such a point when all relevant error sources are taken 

into account (Czuba and others, 2011). While not a measure 

of reproducibility per se, TPU is a measure of accuracy and 

a useful indication of the quality of the bathymetric surface. 

Statistics of TPU for each of the test survey areas are shown 

in table 1–2. The TPU values are good for all three roll angle 

configurations, as generally more than 90 percent of the points 

had a TPU of 0.50 ft or less; however, obvious improvement 

was gained using the corrected roll angle and cropping the 

data to remove beams beyond 60 degrees from nadir (the 

cropped roll angle data), such that over 95 percent of the 

points had a TPU of 0.50 ft or less (table 1–2).

Having addressed the roll angle issue in the previous section, further analysis of the cropped roll angle data was used 

to determine the reproducibility of bathymetric data collected 

with the MBMS in this setting. Examining the data collected 

orthogonally on the same day (figs. 1–7C and 1–7D), the difference between the survey surfaces are relatively uniformly 

distributed across the test survey area, with the differences 

being somewhat larger for the June 5 surveys than the June 

1 surveys. Examining data collected in the same direction on 

different days indicates the June 1 data were higher than the 

June 5 data on the northwest side, and generally lower than the 

June 5 data on the southeast with a local variation along line 

6 (fig. 1–7A). Data collected in opposite directions on different days indicates the June 1 data are generally higher than 

the June 5 data along the northeast side, and generally lower 

than the June 5 data on the southwest side (fig. 1–7B). The 

orthogonal lines collected on different days (figs. 1–7E and 

1–7F) imply similar trends to the surveys in same and opposing directions on different day (figs. 1–7A and 1–7B).

The vast majority of the differences are less than ±0.4 ft 

for all of the comparisons of the cropped roll angle data, when 

one examines the frequency distribution of the differences 

(fig. 1–8A). The mean value of the frequency distributions 

tends to be negative, as indicated in the summary statistics 

(table 1–1), forcing the cumulative percent to be above 

50 percent when crossing the zero abscissa (fig. 1–8B); nevertheless, the slope of the cumulative percent curves are similar 

for all the comparisons of the cropped roll angle data, particularly when compared to the optimized roll angle data (fig. 

1–8D). The frequency distributions for the optimized data are 

substantially wider than for the cropped data. The slope of the 

cumulative percent curves also is similar for the corrected roll 

angle data comparisons (fig. 1–8F), and the mean is less negative for those comparisons (fig. 1–8E; table 1–1). Ultimately, 

the differences between the various test survey surfaces all fall 

within the TPU of a majority of the points (table 1–2). Given 

the number of factors that affect the accuracy of bathymetric data collected with the MBMS combined with the added 

complication of the theorized sound-velocity profile variations 

in this lake setting, the fact that the differences between the 

various surfaces falls within the TPU of the data implies that 

the reproducibility of the data is good. 

Table 1–2. Total propagated uncertainty results for bathymetric data at a 1.64-foot grid spacing from test surveys on Longview Lake 

near Kansas City, Missouri, on June 1 and June 5, 2015.

[ft, foot]

Date Survey 

number

Maximum value 

of uncertainty

(ft)

Mean value of 

uncertainty

(ft)

Median value 

of uncertainty

(ft)

Standard deviation 

of uncertainty 

(ft)

Percent of bathymetry points with uncertainty 

value less than

2.00 ft 1.00 ft 0.50 ft 0.25 ft

“Optimized” Roll Angle

6/1 1 6.66 0.23 0.20 0.17 99.9 99.3 95.1 70.9

6/1 2 10.86 0.25 0.20 0.19 99.9 99.1 93.9 64.4

6/5 1 8.37 0.28 0.23 0.19 99.9 99.1 92.3 51.1

6/5 2 7.22 0.28 0.26 0.19 99.9 99.1 93.1 49.3

Corrected roll angle, -2.45 degrees, with no outer beam cropping

6/1 1 7.32 0.27 0.23 0.19 99.9 99.2 91.0 59.4

6/1 2 8.86 0.29 0.23 0.22 99.9 99.0 87.4 52.6

6/5 1 8.23 0.30 0.26 0.19 99.9 99.1 90.2 48.6

6/5 2 7.22 0.30 0.26 0.20 99.9 99.1 90.1 47.4

Cropped roll angle, -2.45 degrees, with 60 degrees outer beam cropping

6/1 1 7.74 0.22 0.20 0.16 100.0 99.4 95.9 73.6

6/1 2 8.86 0.23 0.20 0.17 99.9 99.3 95.7 70.3

6/5 1 9.71 0.25 0.23 0.16 100.0 99.3 95.3 61.1

6/5 2 11.58 0.27 0.23 0.17 99.9 99.3 95.3 52.8
Appendix 1—Bathymetric Data Reproducibility Test Results 85

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Elevation, in feet above North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Cumulative percent of survey-grid cells lower than indicated elevation 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Percent of total survey-grid cells

0

5

10

15

20

25

-0.6 -0.5 -0.4 -0.3 -0.2 -0.1 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 -0.6 -0.5 -0.4 -0.3 -0.2 -0.1 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6

EXPLANATION

Frequency distribution Cumulative percent

A. Cropped roll angle data B. Cropped roll angle data

C. Optimized roll angle data D. Optimized roll angle data

E. Corrected roll angle data F. Corrected roll angle data

Same direction, different days

Opposite directions, different days

Orthogonal directions, same day, June 1

Orthogonal directions, same day, June 5

Orthogonal directions, different days 1

Orthogonal directions, different days 2

Figure 1–8. Comparison of frequency distribution and cumulative percent of differences in bed elevation for bathymetric surveygrid cells from various test surveys on Longview Lake near Kansas City, Missouri. A, cropped roll angle data frequency distribution. 

B, cropped roll angle data cumulative percent. C, optimized roll angle data frequency distribution. D, optimized roll angle data 

cumulative percent. E, corrected roll angle data frequency distribution. F, corrected roll angle data cumulative percent.
86 Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys at Highway Bridges Crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri

References Cited

Applanix Corporation, 2009, POS-PacTM MMSTM GNSS-inertial 

tools user guide, rev. 4: Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada, 

PUBS–MAN–001768, 523 p.

Calder, B.R., and Mayer, L.A., 2003, Automatic processing of high-rate, high-density multibeam echosounder data: Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 

(G3), v. 4, no. 6, 22 p. [Also available at http://dx.doi.

org/10.1029/2002GC000486.]

Czuba, J.A., Best, J.L, Oberg, K.A., Parsons, D.R., Jackson, 

P.R., Garcia, M.H., and Ashmore, Peter, 2011, Bed morphology, flow structure, and sediment transport at the outlet 

of Lake Huron and in the Upper Saint Clair River: Journal 

of Great Lakes Research, v. 37, no. 3, p. 480–493. [Also 

available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jglr.2011.05.011.]

Environmental Systems Research Institute, 2013, ArcGIS: 

Environmental Systems Research Institute, accessed 

July 2013 at http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis/.
Appendix 2—Shaded Triangulated Irregular Network Images of Channel and Side of Pier for Each Surveyed Pier 87

Appendix 2—Shaded Triangulated Irregular Network Images of Channel and 

Side of Pier for Each Surveyed Pier

694698702706710714718722726730

Elevation of point, in feet

 above the North American

 Vertical Datum of 1988

EXPLANATION

Flow

Flow

Flow

A

B

C

Undermined seal course

Undermined seal course

Pier 2

Pier 3

Pier 3

fig2-1.ai

Figure 2–1. Shaded triangulated irregular network visualization of the channel bed of structure A1800 on Interstate 635 

crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri. A, left (northeast) side of main channel pier 3. B, right (southwest) 

side of main channel pier 3. C, left (northeast) side of main channel pier 2.
88 Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys at Highway Bridges Crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri

Figure 2–2. Shaded triangulated irregular network visualization of the channel bed of structure A4649 on U.S. Highway 169 

crossing the Missouri River in Kansas City, Missouri. A, left (northwest) side of main channel pier 2. B, right (southeast) side 

of main channel pier 2. C, left (northwest) side of main channel pier 1.

678684690696702708714720726

Elevation of point, in feet

 above the North American

 Vertical Datum of 1988

EXPLANATION

Flow

Flow

Flow

A

B

C

Pier 1

Pier 2

Pier 2

Submerged object

fig2-2.ai
Appendix 2—Shaded Triangulated Irregular Network Images of Channel and Side of Pier for Each Surveyed Pier 89

Figure 2–3. Shaded triangulated irregular network visualization of the channel bed of structure A4060 on State Highway 9 

crossing the Missouri River in Kansas City, Missouri. A, right (southeast) side of main channel pier 4. B, left (northwest) side 

of main channel pier 5. C, right (southeast) side of main channel pier 5. D, left (northwest) side of main channel pier 6. E, right 

(southeast) side of main channel pier 6.

Elevation of point, in feet

 above the North American

 Vertical Datum of 1988

EXPLANATION

728

724

720

716

712

708

704

700

696

692

688

Flow

Flow

Flow

Flow

Flow

Pier 4

Pier 5

Pier 6

A

C

D

B

Pier 6

Partially

undermined

seal course

E

Partially

undermined

seal course

Submerged debris

Submerged debris

Pier 5
90 Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys at Highway Bridges Crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri

680686692698704710716722728

Elevation of point, in feet

 above the North American

 Vertical Datum of 1988

EXPLANATION

Flow

Flow

A

B

Riprap around pylon

Riprap around pylon

Downstream end

of seal course

undermined

Debris raft

Debris raft

Figure 2–4. Shaded triangulated irregular network visualization of the channel bed of main channel pylon of structure 

A7650 on Interstate 35 crossing the Missouri River in Kansas City, Missouri. A, left (northwest) side. B, right (southeast) 

side. 
Appendix 2—Shaded Triangulated Irregular Network Images of Channel and Side of Pier for Each Surveyed Pier 91

Elevation of point, in feet

 above the North American

 Vertical Datum of 1988

EXPLANATION

723

720

717

714

711

708

705

702

699

696

693

Flow

Flow

Flow

Flow

Pier 2

Pier 2

A

C

D

B

Submerged logs

Submerged logs

Top corner of footing

Pier 3

Pier 3

Figure 2–5. Shaded triangulated irregular network visualization of the channel bed of structure A5817 on State 

Highway 269 crossing the Missouri River in Kansas City, Missouri. A, left (northwest) side of main channel pier 2. B, right 

(southeast) side of main channel pier 2. C, left (northwest) side of main channel pier 3. D, right (southeast) side of main 

channel pier 3.
92 Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys at Highway Bridges Crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri

676682688694700706712718724

Elevation of point, in feet

 above the North American

 Vertical Datum of 1988

EXPLANATION

Flow

Flow

Flow

A

B

C

Pier 7

Undermined

seal course

Undermined

seal course

Drilled shaft

Drilled shaft

Pier 8

Edge of debris raft

Footing

Apparent roughness caused

by oversampling area with

poor position fix under bridge

Seal course

Spur dike

Pier 7

Figure 2–6. Shaded triangulated irregular network visualization of the channel bed of structure A0767 on Interstate 435 

crossing the Missouri River in Kansas City, Missouri. A, left (north) side of main channel pier 7. B, right (south) side of 

main channel pier 7. C, left (north) side of main channel pier 8.
Appendix 2—Shaded Triangulated Irregular Network Images of Channel and Side of Pier for Each Surveyed Pier 93

Elevation of point, in feet

 above the North American

 Vertical Datum of 1988

EXPLANATION

666672678684690696702708714720

Flow

Flow

A

B

Pier 2C, structure A4757

Pier 2C, structure A4757 Pier 5, structure L0568

Pier 5, structure L0568

Figure 2–7. Shaded triangulated irregular network visualization of the channel bed of main channel pier 2C of structure 

A4757 and pier 5 of structure L0568 on State Highway 291 crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri. A, left 

(north) side. B, right (south) side.
Publishing support provided by:

Rolla Publishing Service Center

For more information concerning this publication, contact:

Director, USGS Missouri Water Science Center

1400 Independence Road

Rolla, MO 65401

(573) 308–3667

Or visit the Missouri Water Science Center Web site at:

http://mo.water.usgs.gov/

Huizinga —Bathymetric and Velocimetric Surveys at Highway Bridges Crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri—Scientific Investigations Report 2016–5061

ISSN 2328-0328 (online)

http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/sir20165061

Flow

Flow

AB