Streetcar groundbreaking ceremony kickstarts expansion construction
Commuters will be able to ride the expanded streetcar line in 2025 after security testing is completed.
In a ceremony today, the city broke ground on the streetcar extension project, which is expected to be complete by 2025. // Photo by Savannah Hawley
Kansas City broke ground on the $351 million streetcar extension project today at an 11 a.m ceremony. The 3.5-mile extension will bring the line to 51st Street and Brookside Boulevard at UMKC—past its original terminus of Pershing and Main at Union Station.
The public had a chance to be a part of the groundbreaking by signing a piece of the rail during the ceremony across from Union Station at Pershing and Main Street.
Chris Hernandez, director of communications for the city of Kansas City, Missouri, opened the ceremony by noting that the streetcar has seemingly brought luck to the city since its inception.
“In approximately the time it has taken for us to plan and roll out the streetcar and now plan this expansion, we’ve had a Major League Soccer Championship in Kansas City. We’ve had a World Series championship in Kansas City. We’ve had a Super Bowl Championship in Kansas City, and an NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship,” Hernandez says. “Is it a coincidence that the streetcar has become the most successful modern streetcar system in the country?”
The public had an opportunity to sign parts of the track before construction begins. // Photo by Savannah Hawley
Dr. C. Mauli Agrawal, chancellor of UMKC, noted that the streetcar will increase visibility for the campus and encourage further engagement between UMKC students and their surrounding community. As well as increased access to internships and jobs for students, Agrawal discussed the opportunity for further participation in the arts with more people being able to attend programming on campus and students attending more entertainment venues downtown.
Josiah Allick, a junior at UMKC and forward on the Roos basketball team, will graduate before the expansion is completed, but is still excited for all the opportunities it brings.
“I think being in walking distance of something that will be able to take you down to see the bigger part of the city for free is going to be a really big benefit. And I think it can help like bring a lot of students in when they see just how accessible the city is,” Allick says.
Mayor Quinton Lucas began by thanking the streetcar administrators and representatives who made the project possible. Lucas spoke about how the streetcar will connect Kansas Citians to other transit in the area, making the city more walkable and public transit-oriented.
“Through zero-fare transit, both on the streetcar and with our ATA lines, we’re seeing a city that isn’t just building exciting, transformative infrastructure, but it’s truly changing lives every step of the way. As a kid who grew up riding the bus with his mom and his two sisters, this is something that I think is so exciting for all of us.”
Mayor Lucas spoke about what transit means for the growth of the city during his remarks. // Photo by Savannah Hawley
Half of the cost of the expansion provided by federal Capital Investment Grant funds made possible by the Federal Transit Administration. The other half comes from local funding approved through the Transportation Development District in 2018.
“I am delighted to be here because this is what we call a fast, frequent, safe, and efficient way of moving. It’s a win for all the people in Kansas City,” says Nuria Fernandez, FTA administrator. “We’re advancing innovation, we’re creating mobility options. We’re providing this high-quality ride to downtown, we’re going to reduce congestion, and we’re going to be relieving the pain that many commuters have been suffering. By getting out of cars, we’re really charting our course towards a cleaner future.”
Fernandez also celebrated that streetcars have returned to the city. Nearly 200 years ago, Kansas City had the first streetcar line in the nation. Though it was destroyed and there was no rail for decades, this extension marks a positive shift in the city’s public transportation infrastructure.
Donna Mandelbaum, communications and marketing director for the Kansas City Streetcar Authority, echoed Fernandez in her enthusiasm for the extension.
“I am excited to extend Free Rail Transit from downtown all the way to 51st and Brookside we’re gonna connect so many neighborhoods and communities and people and jobs with this,” says Mandelbaum. “It’s going to be fare-free for anybody who wants to ride and will better connect to other ride KC bus systems, making this a real spine for a regional transit system.”
The first of nearly 1,400 tons of rail needed for the extensions arrived in Kansas City Jan. 4. Crews will weld 400-foot sections together during the construction phase to string together the miles of new track for the streetcar.
The streetcar line, which currently ends at Union Station, will have a new terminus at UMKC (51st and Brookside) once construction is complete. // Photo by Savannah Hawley
The city of Kansas City, Missouri, the KC Streetcar Authority, and the KCATA will oversee the project, which is expected to take two and a half years. KC Streetcar Constructors—a joint venture between Herzog Contracting Corporation and Stacy and Witbeck, with support from Burns & McDonnell and JE Dunn Construction—will lead construction.
KC Streetcar Constructors has agreements with 55 local companies throughout the project. Approximately 350 jobs will be created over the course of construction, 280 of which will come from local resources. As well, the group plans to utilize disadvantaged companies for 20.5% of the value of the project.
“KC Streetcar Constructors looks forward to the work ahead of us. Our project team and local team members will work continuously to finish street construction work by late 2024 so we can start the testing and commissioning of the new streetcar and open service to the public in 2025,” Bruce Marinchek, senior vice president of national construction for Herzog Transit, says in his remarks.
Track construction will happen in segments, starting with the northern end of the extension at Pershing and Main and heading south towards UMKC. Building will occur on one side of the street at the time, and Main Street will remain open during the three-year period.
Before work on the streetcar track could begin, crews conducted approximately 18 months of construction on Main Street. That included creating nearly four miles of new sewer mains and water mains, 64 new fire hydrants, relocating water meters outside, upgrading 190 manholes, and relocating 16 private utilities. The preparatory work is expected to be completed by August of this year.
Commuters will be able to ride the expanded streetcar line in 2025 after security testing is completed.
