KC Streetcar Authority says rail repairs could take 2-3 weeks

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - On Thursday, contractors began to dig into the rail bed on the I-670 bridge to fix a piece of steel track that emerged from the pavement earlier this week.

A streetcar driver noticed the problem on July 4, when the rail popped out of the ground as a train was approaching the bridge. Donna Mandelbaum, a spokesperson for the Streetcar Authority, said the driver was able to stop in time to avoid further damage or injury.

Since then the Streetcar Authority and its partners have been examining the bridge and rails to find out what caused the problem. Mandelbaum said the rail had likely bent because of thermal expansion.

Mandelbaum said that, in addition to replacing the bent track, the contractors would break up the pavement around the other rails to inspect them in hopes of preventing a repeat of the problem.

“We’re not just checking the one that failed,” she said. “We’re checking all the tracks.”

She said the process could take two to three weeks. However, that the timeframe could be dependent on weather, staffing and other conditions. She said workers would be onsite in shifts 24 hours day.

“We understand the inconvenience of the streetcar not being in service,” she said. “We don’t like it as much as our riders. We will get this service back and running as back as fast as we can in as safe a manner as possible. We appreciate your patience, and we’ll be back rolling as soon as we can.”

Some riders expressed disappointment that the streetcar wouldn’t be running on a busy weekend. While a RideKC bus is driving the route, it didn’t feel the same to some people.

“We had hoped to take the trolley,” said Courtney, a mom visiting from Topeka with her family. “But, I think this is okay.”

The Streetcar Authority said RideKC buses will run every 20-30 minutes, and that they will stop at all designated and open streetcar stops.

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