KCMO city leaders say 347 lane miles were resurfaced during summer program

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - For years, Kansas City drivers have shared their pothole problems and poor road condition concerns with KCTV5 News and city leaders.

On Monday, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas and City Manager Brian Platt announced progress in road improvements alongside Sixth District-at-Large Councilwoman Andrea Bough near 63rd and Wornall Road.

Public works crews have resurfaced 347 lane miles in Kansas City since last August, and 272 streets were milled and overlaid using more than 268,000 tons of asphalt. That took place during the “Summer of Street Resurfacing” program.

“When I was growing up, we had this fear that Kansas City would always have the worst streets,” Mayor Lucas said. “Just filling potholes wasn’t enough. Us just chasing after problems wasn’t key to making our streets better long term. Now, you’re seeing full resurfacing.”

City leaders doubled the city’s financial commitment from $17 million to $39 million to improve Kansas City streets.

“We are listening, Kansas City,” Bough said. “We know the condition of our roads, our sidewalks, our curbs are very important.”

Crews are using digital tools to analyze pavement quality in order to prioritize road improvements.

“Based on long-term complaints, the condition of the roads themselves and, frankly, the traffic that they’re often dealing with,” Lucas said.

A new street excavation policy also requires that utility companies complete a full lane and curb to curb resurfacing if streets being excavated have been resurfaced within the five years.

“We’re doing exponentially more than we’ve ever done in this city,” Platt said. “Three hundred miles a year is our new pace. That is a huge number. We’ve got years and decades of deferred maintenance in all neighborhoods across the city that we are trying to catch up.”

Lucas said the backlog of deferred maintenance for streets and facilities is estimated at $5 billion.

“We spent a lot of time restructuring departments, changing the way we fund things to prioritize those most urgent needs,” Platt said.

Residents can view weekly resurfacing schedules by clicking here.

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