KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Leaders in Kansas City, Missouri, announced a new, federal partnership they believe will help the city complete more than $15 billion worth of infrastructure improvements to help reconnect communities and support long-term planning.
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The city of Kansas City, Missouri and the U.S. Department of Transportation's Build America Bureau are partnering to “reform and reshape Kansas City" through the Emerging Projects Agreement. Kansas City is only the second city to enter this kind of agreement with the Department of Transportation. Austin, Texas, was the first in February this year.
KCMO Mayor Quinton Lucas said since meetings began discussing the emerging projects partnership, it became clear Kansas City was a “do tank,” rather than a "think tank," committed to “exploring several exciting infrastructure improvements in every area” of the city.
The partnership does not mean Kansas City will receive a blank check from the federal government to complete projects.
It does give Kansas City a kind of preferential treatment when it applies for grants, loans and technical assistance to get projects done.
Plus, the agreement connects planners in Kansas City with experts at the DOT who can help the city manage multiple large-scale projects at once.
“Usually, we talk about one big project at a time; one airport, one streetcar, one riverfront development. What I think we’re recognizing with the growth of Kansas City is we need all of this moving at once. This allows us to have the capacity to do it,” Lucas said.
Just a few weeks prior, Lucas and other city officials spoke at a news conference detailing efforts to reconnect communities divided by urban freeways.
“Time and time again, we have seen the construction of highways that disproportionately harm communities of color, displacing families, like my own, cutting residents off from resources and opportunities," Lucas said. "We're exposing children and families to the negative environmental impacts of highways."
A DOT news release estimates it will cost $3 billion to reconnect KCMO communities in the west by Interstate 35 and in the east near 71 Highway, according to.
Ultimately, Lucas said his “real dream” is to inspire efficient and effective transportation that connects the airport to the urban core, critical bridge repairs, greater streetcar connectivity and a safer Kansas City where the “public transportation conversation isn’t just a south of the river discussion.”
Dr. Morteza Farajian, of the Build America Bureau, said the partnership was the result of the U.S. DOT being highly aligned with the priorities KC has set out to accomplish. He also said the “taste of your delicious barbecue” doesn’t hurt either.
Spanning across four counties, Farajian said the projects will inspire “a lot of stakeholder engagement." A list of projects Kansas City has targeted to benefit from the partnership could change. Each project is already in the works and will move at its own pace. Here is the preliminary list:
- Reconnecting the Eastside by creating a safer U.S. Highway 71;
- Reconnecting the Westside by adding bike lanes and and other options around Interstate 35 and reopening the State Avenue/Cesar Chavez bridge going to Kansas City, Kansas;
- Expand the KC Streetcar east to west potentially from KU Hospital to the Truman Sports Complex;
- Install a high-speed fixed rail line from KCI to downtown;
- Implement Vision Zero improvements to reduce traffic fatalities;
- Repair or replace 55 bridges over 10 years;
- Improve the Blue River watershed;
- Improve parking;
- Create an urban park over Interstate-670 in downtown.
Looking forward, KCMO City Council members Eric Bunch (4th District) and Darrell Curls (5th District-at-Large) as well as Michael Shaw, director of KCMO Public Works, were positive about the potential the long-term project could bring.
“We want Kansas City to be known as that place where you can come work, play and stay safely,” Shaw said.
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