KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Kansas City will receive nearly $51 million to expand its streetcar from downtown to near the Country Club Plaza, federal officials announced Wednesday.
The Federal Transit Administration said it has approved $50.8 million in Capital Investment Grants for the project.
Officials have been planning to extend the streetcar from Union Station in midtown to the Plaza and the University of Missouri-Kansas City for years. The funding will help add about 3.5 miles of track.
Streetcar officials say water and sewer work is expected to begin this fall, with construction on the streetcar planned for late 2021 or early 2022. The streetcar expansion is projected to open in 2025.
The Kansas City Streetcar Authority said it is the largest transportation grant ever distributed in the region.
The authority has asked for a total of $174 million. The entire project is expected to cost $351 million.
The rest of the funds will come from a Transportation Development District, which raises property taxes in the area along the planned new route. Voters in the district approved the tax increase in 2018.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI