Missouri Grants Port Kansas City $37 Million to Extend Reach, Develop Second Terminal
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signed a bill June 30 that, among other things, included $37 million toward the improvement and growth of two Missouri River ports in Kansas City. The funds were part of the Missouri Fiscal Year 2024 state operating budget, which is approximately $51.8 billion, including $15.2 billion in general revenue. Of the budget, nearly $4 billion is directed to infrastructure and transportation projects.
The only public port on the Missouri River in Kansas City at present is Woodswether Terminal in the West Bottoms. Woodswether is a 7-acre, multimodal facility that connects to rail and has immediate access to interstates. The port claims that freight in 2023 has already surpassed 2022 numbers. Port KC will utilize $7 million of those dedicated funds to build a new dock that will double the volume of barge traffic at this location, the port said. Port KC assumed ownership and reopened the port in 2015 after decades of disinvestment and eventual closure.
Missouri River Terminal
The remaining $30 million in dedicated funds will aid in the growth and development of a second KC port dubbed the Missouri River Terminal. The MRT is located at the convergence of the Blue River into the Missouri River in Jackson County, at the site of the old AK Steel mill plant north of I-70 near Highway 435. Port KC acquired the 415 acres and started remediating the property in 2018.
This site has access to five major railroads and the Missouri River, but it required better road access for trucks in and out of the property. The state funds will allow development of the terminal, which the port says will expand Kansas City’s footprint as a global logistics center and attract needed new jobs and opportunity to the eastside neighborhoods of Kansas City.
Port Duisburg in Germany was used as a case study in Port KC’s design. It is Europe’s largest inland port, handling 4.4 million TEUs in 2019.
“We thank Gov. Parson and the state legislators who support Port KC’s vision for these shovel-ready sites and their impact on the region and the state,” Port KC said in a press release.
