Editing Hyatt Regency walkway collapse (section)

==Background==
''[[The Kansas City Star]]'' described the national climate of the late 1970s as "high unemployment, inflation and double-digit interest rates [that added] pressure on builders to win contracts and complete projects swiftly".<ref name="20 years later">{{cite news | url=http://skywalk.kansascity.com/articles/20-years-later-many-are-continuing-learn-skywalk-collapse/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160108175310/http://skywalk.kansascity.com/articles/20-years-later-many-are-continuing-learn-skywalk-collapse/ | url-status=dead | archive-date=January 8, 2016 |title=20 years later: Many are continuing to learn from skywalk collapse| work=[[The Kansas City Star]]| date=July 15, 2001|access-date=May 4, 2020 |first=Rick |last=Montgomery|page=A1}}</ref> Described by the newspaper as [[Fast-track construction|fast-tracked]], construction began in May 1978 on the 40-story [[Hyatt Regency Kansas City]]. There were numerous delays and setbacks, including the collapse of {{convert|2700|ft2}} of the roof. The newspaper observed that "Notable structures around the country were failing at an alarming rate", which included the [[Hy-Vee Arena#1979 roof collapse|1979 Kemper Arena roof collapse]]<ref name="20 years later"/> and the [[XL Center#Early history and roof collapse|1978 Hartford Civic Center roof collapse]]. The hotel officially opened on July 1, 1980.<ref name="NYT">{{cite news |author=Staff |access-date=July 17, 2019 |title=45 Killed at Hotel in Kansas City, Mo., as Walkways Fall |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/07/18/us/45-killed-at-hotel-in-kansas-city-mo-as-walkways-fall.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=July 18, 1981 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=July 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717123725/https://www.nytimes.com/1981/07/18/us/45-killed-at-hotel-in-kansas-city-mo-as-walkways-fall.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The hotel's lobby was its defining feature, with a multi-story atrium spanned by elevated walkways suspended from the ceiling. These steel, glass and concrete crossings connected the second, third and fourth floors between the north and south wings. The walkways were about {{convert|120|ft}} long<ref name="nbs"/>{{rp|28}} and weighed about {{convert|64000|lb}}.<ref name="kcpl">{{cite web| title=Hotel Horror| url=https://kchistory.org/week-kansas-city-history/hotel-horror| first=Jason| last=Roe| publisher=[[Kansas City Public Library]]| access-date=April 30, 2019| archive-date=April 30, 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190430150635/http://www.kchistory.org/week-kansas-city-history/hotel-horror| url-status=live}}</ref> The fourth-level walkway was directly above the second-level walkway.