It’s happening. On Tuesday, KS + MO leaders announced the launch of their joint venture: the Bi-State Sustainable Reinvestment Corridor. That’s a mouthful — but what is it?
Essentially, this project will connect the 24-mile stretch between Independence, Sugar Creek, KCK, and the Legends Outlets with clean transportation like electric buses and bicycle + pedestrian routes.
But the vision goes beyond just redesigning transportation. Goals for the new corridor also include:
- Championing energy-efficient housing
- Adding area-wide broadband
- Workforce training for green stormwater infrastructure
All of the groundwork for the corridor is scheduled to happen across three phases.
Phase one — Positioning | 2024-2025
Just launched, this phase is for ironing out concepts by getting community input + securing more investors.
Phase two — Accelerating | 2025-2026
This is when we’ll start seeing some changes as the team pours into local projects.
Phase three — Demonstrating | 2026-2027
Let’s show the world what KC can do. During this phase, the team will use the corridor as a case study, modeling what the future of the US could be.
Currently, ~90,000 people live across the 24-mile stretch. Leaders hope that the Bi-State Sustainable Reinvestment Corridor improves their lives wholistically — i.e. providing better access to childcare, allowing people to work further from home — while cleaning up the way KC commutes.
Want to keep up with the corridor? You can sign up for updates from the Mid-America Regional Council.
