Advantages

The proposed MRT Project is uniquely positioned to provide maximum efficiency in operations and logistics, as well as competitive costs to intermodal customers (water, highway, and rail). Some of the advantages of the Port KC Project include:

  1. Unparalleled Access:
    1. Missouri River: MRT will be able to create a commercial shipping port located on the Missouri River; allowing for a future river terminal here is direct access to the Missouri River which can utilize previous dock infrastructure at the MRT site.
    2. Rail: There is planned direct access from MRT to five Class I rail roads are located within the vicinity of the proposed Project that service the Heart of the central United States and both coasts of the United States and Canada and into Mexico.
    3. There is direct access and a planned interchange to connect Interstate 435 and the multi-directional Kansas City interstate highway system that provides outstanding access to the Blue River Valley industrial corridor, the broader KC metro region and beyond.
  2. Scalable and flexible infrastructure: Port KC will allow for new river port capabilities to handle local and international bulk/break bulk and container cargoes, short line rail service and switching and trans load service capabilities, container repair and recycling empty containers more efficiently through the national freight networks. It is estimated that MRT may allow for competitive and reliable cargo handling and enable the initial capacity of TEU up to 200,000 – 400,000. There is possible expansion of these capabilities depending on terminal design and uses.
  3. Strong freight demand: Kansas City’s expectation for continued economic gains is rapidly attracting industrial development of buildings and logistics parks across retail distribution, e-commerce, agricultural product transloading, and general manufacturing sectors. These commercial expansions, and the consumer spending that fuels them, portents sustained growth in container imports. Demand forecasts estimate annual average volume growth of 6.4% through 2030, building on the 5.2% growth achieved between 2015-2020 despite ongoing economic impacts of the pandemic.
  4. Blue River Valley Corridor: MRT is located within the Blue River Valley Industrial Corridor (BRVIC), an industrial area identified by the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City (EDCKC) as a regional economic development initiative. MRT will serve as a transformative Project for Kansas City and the BRVIC in supporting the revitalization of this corridor to transform it into a coherent urban industrial core area. MRT will serve as a catalyst for offering unmatched labor, access, and infrastructure advantages to the region.