Anything Concrete? We Check In A Year After Our Infrastructure Project

Last spring, we dug into the state of metro roads, highways, sewers and public transportation in a project called Public Works? The Cost of Our Aging Infrastructure.

Now, we’re issuing a report card, of sorts, to see if anything has changed in a year’s time. We track the progress on our weekly public affairs shows, Week in Review and Ruckus.

State of the State

“Quail,” sure. But “roads,” “bridges” and “highways”? Those words appear nowhere in the Kansas — or Missouri — State of the State addresses this year. Nick Haines, Executive Producer for Week in Review, and his reporter roundtable asks the question: Why were there no mentions of the word “infrastructure”?

The Report

While infrastructure was absent from the State of the State addresses, here’s what we found about the cost of roads in our series:

The Cost of Our Roads | Episode 4If you've ever wondered how Kansas and Missouri maintain their roadways, "The Cost of Roads | Episode 4," looks at what's being done to fund the roads Kansas Citians rely on everyday in the fourth of a five-part digital series looking at our city’s aging…

Trump’s Infrastructure Plan

In his State of the Union address in January, President Trump urged legislators to craft a $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan to create “gleaming new roads, bridges, highways, railways and waterways.” But will Kansans and Missourians see any of those shiny new projects close to home? Haines’ reporter roundtable discusses how much of this proposed budget, if any, the metro should expect.

The Report

Trump spoke on national infrastructure, but for Public Works? The Cost of Our Aging Infrastructure, we kept it close to home. In this video from the project, Kansas City Manager Troy Schulte tells us what piece of local roadway keeps him up at night, and why the city has prioritized it as a top fix:

The State of Our Metro Bridges? May Not Want to Shut Your EyesWhen it comes to the sorry state of Kansas City bridges, City Manager Troy Schulte says the one that keeps him up at night is the old Broadway Bridge over the Missouri River. But a Flatland analysis of bridge inspection…

Streetcar Expansion

With the deadline to request a mail-in ballot looming tomorrow, Haines asks his roundtable why this isn’t a city-wide vote, and takes the temperature of how they think the vote will go.

There’s more streetcar on Ruckus, as host Mike Shanin talks to Sherry DeJanes, a local attorney and founder of SMART KC, an organization opposed to streetcar expansion. She reacts to our video piece on the cost of public transit and gives her takes on the most effective regional transit systems.

The Report

In addition that video, last year we created a tale-of-the-tape in the ongoing bus versus streetcar debate. You’ll want to read up before you head to the ballot box:

Bus vs. Streetcar Debate: No Easy AnswersMore than a decade ago, the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority launched an express bus system along Main Street between the Country Club Plaza and the City Market. Known as the Metro Area Express, or MAX, that 6-mile route proved…

Explore the Entire Series

Follow Flatland for more check-ins connecting the policies and politics of today’s infrastructure discussions with how things stood in the metro a year ago. And explore the entire infrastructure project here. Then keep tabs on our follow-up series, Public Works? A Level Foundation, an evolving project on eviction, gentrification and affordable housing in the metro.