County Executive Mike Sanders are the announcement that Jackson County and the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority are buying the Rock Island rail corridor.
If you bike, hike or ride rail or buses, officials say you win in a historic deal announced today.
Jackson County and the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority are buying the Rock Island rail corridor.
The $52 million purchase of the 17.7-mile corridor could soon link Kansas City to the Katy Trail and opens vast transit and development possibilities, officials said at a press conference.
The event was held at the Truman Sports Complex, the ending point for the corridor that runs to Lee’s Summit.
The purchase could eventually link downtown to the stadium and to Lee’s Summit with mass transit.
Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders said: “Imagine being able to leave your seat at the top of Arrowhead Stadium and get home before most cars leave the parking lot;…Imagine connecting the Katy Trail so that you can ride a bike from the Truman Sports Complex to the St. Louis Arch.”
Gov. Jay Nixon recently pledged to extend the Katy Trail next year from Windsor to Pleasant Hill, leaving only a small gap to connect to the Rock Island corridor.
Union Pacific officials said that they have reached agreement on all major issues related to the sale and expect to sign a contract soon.
The county will issue $52 million bonds for the project and KCATA and Jackson County will split $2.8 million a year in payments on them for 30 years.
Also, $10 million in federal funds have been approved for construction on the trail.
No new taxes are involved and the local money will come from general revenues, officials said. Besides better linking the area, the project is expected to result in more development, jobs and transit income.
Officials said they also expect far more federal money will be available for developing the corridor.
Someday, they say, commuter rail could run on the line alongside the trail. Someday that rail could connect to the downtown streetcar system.
Sanders said, “The significance of this announcement, and its potential to shape our county’s growth for generations to come, cannot be overstated.”
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