Sparks Fly for the KC Streetcar Main Street Extension
657 tons of steel T rail will be welded into 480-foot strings for future track
Holland Welding, under the direction of KC Streetcar Constructors, welds for the KC Streetcar Main Street Extension on Tuesday, January 24.
Kansas City, MO – Sparks started flying this week when the KC Streetcar Constructors started welding the remaining rail needed for the KC Streetcar Main Street Extension project.
The delivery of nearly 700 tons of 115# T rail concluded last week and crews got right to work welding the 80-foot rail sticks into 480-foot strings of rail. These strings will be used to build track on the southern half of the Main Street Extension. Welding will take place within the existing traffic control in the northbound lanes of Brookside Boulevard between 49th Street and 51st Street.
Rail welding uses a technique called Electric Flash-Butt Welding, where the ends of two sticks of rail are heated to approximately 2,800 degrees and then pressed together to create the weld. Throughout the process, multiple 480-foot strings will be created by welding together six, 80-foot sticks. By completing the electric flash-butt weld now, the team minimizes the number of welds needed in the field during track construction, which maximizes schedule efficiency.
During rail welding, the northbound lanes of Brookside Boulevard will remain closed between 49th Street and 51st Street. Rail welding is anticipated to take 2-3 weeks, weather permitting. While northbound Brookside Boulevard is closed, vehicles will be detoured to 51st Street and Oak Street. The Trolley Track Trail will remain open for pedestrians and bicyclists.
Rail Welding Media Availability:
WHO: KC Streetcar Constructors and subcontractor, Holland Welding
WHEN: Thursday, January 26 at 9:30 a.m.
WHERE: 49th Street and Brookside Boulevard, on the Trolley Track Trail*
*Media can access 49th Street via the Trolley Track Trail
AGENDA: Media interview opportunity with KCSC spokesperson, b-roll of rail welding
The remaining rail needed for the southern half of the Main Street Extension was delivered in January 2023 via train from Pueblo, Colorado to Kansas City, Kansas. At that time, a total of 429, 80-foot sticks were delivered to a staging area on Brookside Boulevard between 49th Street and 51st Street. This included 53, 39-foot sticks of 112 TRAM rail that will be welded into 330-foot strings for track on the Brookside Boulevard bridge over Brush Creek. This remaining batch of rail will be used for track construction south of 39th Street to the southern terminus near UMKC at 51st Street and Brookside Boulevard.
For more information, please visit the KC Streetcar Constructors website at www.buildkcstreetcar.com, email questions to info@buildkcstreetcar.com, follow us on Twitter @BuildKCSC, or call the project hotline at 816-337-1013.