Feds put $72M toward bridge over Lydia Avenue tracks
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
The tracks in question and a map of the area. Photos: Courtesy of Port KC
Anyone who's waited for a train to cross Lydia Avenue will eventually get a bridge over the tracks, now that Port KC has secured up to $72 million in federal funding.
Why it matters: Trains often block Lydia, the only street connecting Columbus Park and KC's Riverfront, for 40 minutes or more, creating safety problems for drivers, pedestrians and emergency crews, according to Port KC.
Zoom in: Lydia crosses four tracks owned by BNSF, Union Pacific and CPKC, with no continuous sidewalk. The northernmost crossing has no gates.
- Two of the tracks sit about 100 yards apart, so people can get trapped between two trains, Port KC president and CEO Jon Stephens tells Axios.
- "If anything like that were to be designed or proposed today, they would absolutely never approve it," he says.
The bridge will include walking paths, and Stephens says it'll be a key link in Greenline KC, a planned 10-mile walking and biking loop around downtown.
- It should also connect to the East Bottoms, Northeast Industrial Trafficway and Fourth Street, he says.
Follow the money: Port KC's consultants estimate the bridge will cost about $90 million, Stephens says.
- The grant covers 80%. It's the third largest of the 91 crossing grants the Federal Railroad Administration handed out nationwide in late October.
- Port KC still needs to secure up to $18 million in local funding. The railroads haven't put any money toward the bridge, Port KC director of communications Patrick Pierce tells Axios.
What they're saying: "We do believe that the Riverfront should pay and contribute a significant local portion," Stephens says.
- He wants future tax revenue from the area's new apartments and a planned KC Current stadium expansion to help cover it.
State of play: Port KC is still studying the crossing with an earlier $2.5 million federal grant and hasn't picked a route yet. It's weighing four options, two along Lydia and two along nearby Gillis Street.
- Environmental review and early design should wrap up in August 2027, Stephens says.
What's next: Port KC will spend the first half of 2027 on more design and engineering, and it's working with the railroads so construction doesn't disrupt train traffic, Stephens says.
- He expects to know when construction could start and finish within about three to four months.
- Last year, Port KC estimated construction could begin in about four years, and Stephens tells Axios that's still roughly the timeline.