Kansas City OKs Intermodal Hub
Voters approved the project Tuesday 54 to 46 percent. Before the airport can be closed, though, the city must receive permission from the Federal Aviation Administration.
The intermodal hub will use the main runway to transfer cargo between trains and trucks. As planned, Kansas City would become a dissemination point for goods flowing into the United States from Mexico and possibly Canada under the North American Free Trade Agreement.
One of Kansas City Southern's first priorities will be to work on an automotive distribution center that Mazda has expressed interest in occupying next spring, said Warren Erdman, Kansas City
The railroad hopes to begin using the site by next fall.
The opponents, organized as the Save Richards-Gebaur Committee, relied on a grass-roots campaign that appealed to deep-seated skepticism over claims that the operation would be an economic boon.
