Kansas City officials celebrated the groundbreaking of the $351 million streetcar expansion last week, joined by Federal Transit Administrator Nuria Fernandez.
Mayor Quinton Lucas joined Fernandez, and representatives of the KC Streetcar Authority, the KC Area Transportation Authority, and the KC Streetcar Constructors at the corner of Pershing Road and Main Street, where construction on the 3.50-mile streetcar system expansion will begin. The project is expected to take two and a half years to complete.
“Together, we are creating a positive impact on the everyday lives of people in this community by creating more mobility, reducing congestion, and charting a course toward a cleaner future, with better air quality and healthier neighborhoods,” Fernandez said. “These benefits are real, and they align with the Biden-Harris Administration’s values and priorities as we move toward energy independence.”
The expansion will connect the current system to the University of Missouri – Kansas City. Funded with federal Capital Investment Grant funds and voter-approved funding through a Transportation Development District, the project is expected to be operational in 2025. The project is being overseen by a joint partnership consisting of the City of Kansas City, The KC Streetcar Authority, and the Kansas City Transportation Authority.
The project is anticipated to create more than 340 construction jobs and nearly 100 transit operations, safety, and maintenance jobs.
“The KC Streetcar Main Street Extension project will connect our city’s largest employment centers and elevate the function of our system from a downtown circulator to the spine of an improved regional transit system,” said Tom Gerend, Executive Director, KC Streetcar Authority. “Transportation infrastructure has shaped Kansas City’s landscape for the last 100 years, and this transit strategy is a generational investment that puts a stake in ground that says that Kansas City is the place for people, jobs, and economic opportunities.”