The new flyover, called the Argentine Connection, will grade-separate two key BNSF routes that intersect near the Missouri and Kansas state line at what is called Santa Fe Junction. The Argentine Connection will be built as a collaborative effort among KCT, BNSF, the State of Missouri, and the Unified Government of Kansas City, Kan.

With an average of 80 BNSF trains a day passing through Santa Fe Junction at grade level (approximately 55 east-west trains and 25 north-south trains), some trains can experience significant delays as a result of the conflicting traffic flows. The east-west trains in particular carry some of the nation’s highest priority intermodal traffic for consumers and retailers on BNSF’s Transcon route between Chicago and Southern California. The other affected BNSF line is an important north-south route through Kansas City, which connects the Pacific Northwest and the Upper Midwest to the Southeast and the Gulf.

“The Santa Fe Junction area has been described as the most significant choke point remaining in Kansas City’s rail network. The Argentine Connection is expected to help eliminate that choke point and have a positive impact on the operations of all railroads involved,” says Bill Somervell, KCT president.

The Argentine Connection will elevate BNSF’s east-west Transcon route over the north-south Fort Scott subdivision route at Santa Fe Junction, eliminating the at-grade train conflicts. It will stretch from the Kansas City Terminal mainline tracks in Kansas City, Mo., to BNSF’s Argentine Yard in Kansas City, Kan. The east end will be located near the Southwest Boulevard bridge in Kansas City, Mo., and the west end will be located near the existing Seventh Street bridge in Kansas City, Kan. The Argentine Connection will be two miles long, with 1.2 miles of the connection in Kansas and 0.8 miles in Missouri. Construction on the Argentine Connection is expected to begin in April.

“The unique public-private partnership that was formed to build Kansas City’s largest rail ‘flyover’ project has been an excellent model for the Argentine Connection,” said Dave Dealy, BNSF’s vice president, Transportation. “Improved rail traffic flows through this area will not only enhance Kansas City’s position as one of the nation’s most important freight transportation centers, it also will improve the ability of BNSF and other railroads to provide more traffic congestion relief for the area’s highways,” Dealy added. More than 1.6 million truck trailers and containers a year pass through the Kansas City area, carried on BNSF trains instead of moving on the local freeways.

Kansas City’s largest rail flyover project, the Sheffield Flyover, opened in July 2000 and has helped reduce delays to as many as 250 trains a day by eliminating the at-grade intersections of several railroads. The Sheffield Flyover stretches more than three miles from Interstate 435 to Kansas City’s northeast industrial district, and also was financed through a creative partnership involving the State of Missouri and several railroads including KCT and BNSF.

The Argentine Connection and associated improvements will cost an estimated $60 million. Financing for the project will be provided through a creative partnership similar to the one used to finance the Sheffield Flyover. A special Missouri transportation corporation, the Westside Intermodal Transportation Corporation, was created by the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission and KCT, to issue industrial revenue bonds for the Missouri portion of the project. Industrial revenue bonds issued by the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kan. will finance the portion of the project in Kansas. KCT will be responsible for making all revenue bond payments, and will retire the issue in full within 20 years.

Construction of the Argentine Connection is expected to take approximately two years.