Kansas: Street resurfacing program gets $40 million boost!

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The City Council has approved nearly $40 million in street resurfacing contracts just as another busy summer of smoothing out roads all over Kansas City gets underway.

Since the City rolled out the revamped street maintenance strategy last spring, Kansas City streets have seen great progress — more than doubling the street resurfacing budget allowed Public Works teams to resurface 300 lane miles compared to less than 100 lane miles in previous years.

The City also passed new policies on street cuts and excavations, which hold utility companies accountable for making better repairs after they cut into streets. The result is smoother patches and improved rideability across the City. City Council and public feedback have also been incorporated into the process, with dedicated Council District funding to prioritize community and resurfacing needs.

The City has been intentional about shifting resources from potholes to full street resurfacing as this is a more comprehensive, permanent improvement. The City is finishing the 300 lane miles of resurfacing from last year and will begin the 300 miles from this upcoming year in the next few weeks. This means in about 18 months the City will have resurfaced 600 lane miles or 10% of all city streets.

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"We know street maintenance is a top priority for residents," said Michael Shaw, Director of Public Works. "Our strategy is intentional and multifaceted — more investment, better use of our existing resources, better policy and better partnership with our contractors and utility companies. The goal is smoother streets in Kansas City and focusing on long-term fixes and quality repairs."

"I've been impressed with the City's new approach to street repair," said Gregg Lombardi, president of the Lykins Neighborhood Association. They used to be focused on just patching up pot holes, which was inefficient and half the time the pot holes would be back six months later. Now, they're doing serious, street re-pavement, which keeps long stretches of road in good shape for years. This is a much smarter, long-term approach."

In the last year, the street preservation program made improvements to resurface more streets, raise Kansas City's pavement rating score and incorporate City Council and community feedback into the process:
  • More than double financial commitment, from $17M in FY 20-21 to $39M this fiscal year
  • 3x as many lane miles for resurfacing - from 100 lane miles to 300 lane miles annually
  • Warranty extension for contract labor from two years to three years
  • Improved coordination with contractors and utility companies for better patches after utility work
  • Repairing subgrade issues to prevent pavement failures
  • Dedicated funding for each Council District to determine community priorities for street resurfacing
  • Using new technology with video and sensor analysis of pavement to create detailed pavement quality scoring to assist in prioritizing streets
  • Launching the new myKCMO app to allow for easier resident reporting of potholes and street maintenance needs

Residents can view the resurfacing map, see where work is planned and track progress at KCMO.gov/streetpreservation

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Media questions can be directed to Maggie Green, Media Relations Manager, at 816-379-6562.

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