Kansas City Streetcar extension gets recommendation for federal funding

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Two federal agencies have officially recommended that the Kansas City Streetcar Main Street Extension to the University of Missouri Kansas City receive full federal funding.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) recommended that the project be funded under the FTA’s New Starts Capital Investment Grants (CIG) program.

This week, the DOT notified Congress of its intention to fully fund the project with more than $174 million in CIG Program funds, to be given to the City of Kansas City. The grant money will fund the design and construction of the KC Streetcar Main Street Extension Project. The notification is the first step in funding and triggers a 30-day public review period before the grant package can be signed and executed. The full funding agreement acceptance and signing is anticipated to take place in January 2021.

“The extension of the streetcar represents the next step in our vision to make transportation free and available to all, and will provide good jobs to Kansas Citians as it is being built,” said Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas. “Today’s federal funding approval marks another big step toward beginning work on this extension. I’ve met with FTA leaders in both Washington and Kansas City to advocate for our community’s transportation and infrastructure priorities, and I appreciate their continued commitment to these efforts.”

The CIG program funds transit capital investments, including heavy rail, commuter rail, light rail, streetcars, and bus rapid transit systems. The funding will provide half of the amount needed for the Mainstreet Extension project, which is estimated to cost $351 million. The remainder of the funding comes from local funding sources approved by voters in 2018.

Construction on the project is estimated to begin in late 2021 or early 2022, with the system’s opening in 2025.