KC Streetcar to receive full federal funding request

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) earlier this week recommended that the Kansas City Streetcar Authority (KCSA) receive $174 million for its Main Street extension project under the FTA’s New Starts Capital Investment Grants (CIG) program.

Under a full funding grant agreement, KCSA would receive the CIG funds for the design and construction of the streetcar extension from Main Street to the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

The award represents the largest transit grant in the region’s history, KCSA officials said in a press release. The CIG program funds transit capital investments including heavy rail, commuter rail, light rail, streetcars and bus rapid transit systems. 

The KC Streetcar Main Street extension project is expected to cost $351 million. The $174 million in federal funding represents half of the funding needed to build the project. The remainder will come from a local funding source approved by voters in 2018, authority officials said.

Construction will begin in late 2021 or early 2022. The opening of the KC Streetcar Main Street extension is slated for 2025.

The CIG award is the third federal grant the streetcar has received this year. In August, the authority received $50.8 million in funding from the FTA; in September, the authority secured a $14.2 million federal grant.