How North Kansas City is exploring streetcar expansion

NORTH KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - North Kansas City is abuzz with the recent news that the streetcar could expand the current rail down the Heart of America (HOA) Bridge to the Northland.

Both the Missouri Department of Transportation and the Kansas City Streetcar Authority are seeking conceptual designs and environment reviews and the next step after that would be securing funding to make the plans a reality.

So what does the plan look like?

There are variations including a variety of routes that the rail would take to get the river, then on the bridge it would likely be one rail that goes on either the east or west side of the HOA, and then when it gets to North Kansas City it would go down Burlington, or more likely Swift Avenue, according to NKC Mayor Bryant Delong.

“The preferred alignment was up Swift, but the study could change, and you could end up on Burlington again, depending on future phases and kind of where the study lands,” Delong said.

READ MORE: KC Streetcar, MoDOT seeking proposals to help extend streetcar over the Missouri River

If it is Swift Avenue, then the line would end at 32nd Avenue, which leads into the Waggin’ Trail Dog Park.

As you may imagine, the project wouldn’t be cheap. Estimates from the Streetcar Authority show it’d be between $129 to $142 million. But that may be on the low end.

“It’s a heavy lift – I think the last estimate came in a minimum of $175 million with a top out of like $205, just on capital alone,” Delong said. “Part of what we consider now is strategies for funding that – whether that be a (Transportation Development District) or some sort of wider tax, and beyond that – federal funding as well.”

The last time the streetcar was up for a vote was the expansion of the rail to the Plaza from Union Station, which was largely ed by the community. The future expansion could come down to a similar measure.

To find out more from the Streetcar Authority on the current plans go to https://kcstreetcar.org/about-streetcar/northrail/.

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