Kansas City's streetcar won't be running for a while

By Lisa Rodriguez,

Published July 12, 2023 at 4:00 AM CDT

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It's gotten even harder to get around downtown Kansas City. After a "track failure" caused by the summer heat, the KC Streetcar has suspended service — and it likely will be down for several weeks. With construction still ongoing for the extension to UMKC, the incident is raising questions about the durability of the streetcar infrastructure.

On the Fourth of July, the Kansas City streetcar experienced a track failure on the Main Street bridge above I-670 because of the midsummer heat. Now, the streetcar will be shut down for weeks as crews work on repairs.

KC Streetcar Authority executive director Tom Gerend joined KCUR's Brian Ellison to talk about the incident and how it affects future plans for streetcar expansion.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Paris Norvell, Byron Love and KCUR Studios and edited by Gabe Rosenberg and Lisa Rodriguez.