KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority was awarded a nearly $30 million grant for its proposed Prospect MAX Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project.
The project will extend BRT 10 miles south from downtown Kansas City.
"This isn't just about four tires on the road. This isn't just about putting four tires on a bus going from A to B. This is about everything that comes with that," KCATA President Robbie Makinen said. "It's about the community development, the economic development, the technology that we're going to bring to the corridor, too."
The Prospect MAX BRT will run along Prospect Avenue and will include 12 buses, 27 stations, and two transit centers. It will receive signal priority at intersections as it operates in mixed traffic, according to a news release from the Federal Transit Administration.
Makinen said this is a game changer for the city.
"The Prospect Corridor is one of our highest ridership corridors," Makinen said. "Putting a bus rapid transit and MAX service on that corridor not only will give customers, and a lot of customers, better service and faster service, but it's the game changer from the development community development and economic development standpoint from the city as a whole."
The grant will also help fund improvements to sidewalks and about 50 existing bus stops.
The KCATA will receive $29.89 million through FTA’s Capital Investment Grants program, which provides funding for major transit capital infrastructure investments nationwide.
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