Why the RAISE Project Feels Slow, and What Is Actually Happening

Excelsior Springs, Mo. – For residents watching for the west side RAISE project progress, the question is simple: Why does a $21.5 million grant awarded more than three years ago still feel invisible?

The grant was awarded to help fund Excelsior Springs’ Safe Streets and Sidewalks initiatives. It is set to make large infrastructure changes, like a pedestrian bridge over Highway 69, improve walkability with sidewalks, a pedestrian tunnel under the railway bridge on Kearney Rd., and more. 

The short answer is that the project has not been halted altogether. It has been waiting for proper procedural steps to occur, which have taken longer than expected. In the world of federally funded infrastructure, following a careful process is often the most time-consuming part.

To understand where the project stands and why construction is still years away, it helps to separate what has already been completed from what is currently holding the project in place.

A Careful Process

Since receiving formal notice to proceed in February 2024, the city has been authorized to begin early design and planning work tied to the RAISE grant. That authorization allowed the city to hire engineers, complete technical studies, and begin preliminary engineering.

Public Works Director Chad Birdsong said the city has already spent approximately $1.1 million on design-related work, part of a larger $5.7 million design contract tied to the grant. 

Under the terms of the grant, those costs are eligible for 80 percent federal reimbursement. But that reimbursement cannot begin until the federal Grant Agreement is finalized. So, the city has spent money, but has not yet been reimbursed. 

“That funding agreement is really the holdup,” Birdsong said. “We were told to expect it within a few months of February 2024. That did not happen.”

Without the finalized agreement, the city made the decision to limit further spending. Continuing to advance the design without reimbursement would mean risking millions of dollars in local funds with no guarantee of recovery.

The city’s share is $2.9 million for the project, and since local funds can’t all be spent upfront, city officials estimated spending an estimated $500,000 per year. City Manager Molly McGovern explained, “To spend more than $1 million in two years would impact the cash needed for other projects.” 

Birdsong expanded on a similar concern, “If something went wrong and the project were cut, you would be sitting on well over a million dollars in engineering costs without funding to finish the work,” Birdsong said. “We were not comfortable doing that.”

As a result, much of the engineering work has been paused for several months, not because progress stopped, but because spending could not responsibly continue.

Progress So Far

Even with that pause, the project has made important progress.

According to Birdsong, the city and its engineering partners have already completed topographic surveys, traffic and enhancement studies, geotechnical work, concept planning, and early environmental coordination. Railroad coordination also began last year, a process that can take years on its own. Much of this review and evaluation work helps to cut down on potential costly surprises during active construction, McGovern shared.  

Further, all of that work falls into what Birdsong described as the project’s base phase. This phase includes preliminary engineering and the early environmental review required under the National Environmental Policy Act, known as NEPA.

“This is the groundwork,” Birdsong said. 

The project is still moving through the remaining portions of the NEPA process, which includes reviews by federal agencies such as Fish and Wildlife. 

Those agencies are given formal review periods, typically 30 days, and any comments must be addressed before clearance can be issued. Birdsong said those steps are expected to be completed within the next couple of months.

Only after NEPA clearance and final Grant Agreement approval can the city resume full-scale engineering work and begin submitting invoices for reimbursement.

Birdsong said the city received encouraging news during a recent meeting with Federal Highway Administration representatives, who indicated that most approvals are complete and the Grant Agreement should be finalized by the end of January.

Once signed, the city will be able to submit reimbursement requests for the invoices already paid, returning 80 percent of those costs to city funds.

“That is what unlocks everything else,” Birdsong said.

Why Construction Is Still Years Away

Even once the agreement is finalized and engineering resumes, construction is not imminent.

The current phase focuses on preliminary engineering only. Final design and construction will be handled through a separate design-build process that requires its own procurement, approvals, and right-of-way acquisition.

Birdsong said residents should not expect visible construction until 2028 at the earliest, with work continuing through 2029 and 2030.

That timeline is not unusual for a project of this size, particularly one involving multiple roadways, utilities, railroads, and pedestrian infrastructure.

“When federal money is involved, every step has to be completed in order,” Birdsong said. “You cannot skip ahead, and you cannot do step three until step two is done.”

That said, Birdsong shared that even with unexpected pauses, the original project completion estimate of 2031 is still expected to be met. 

The Bottom Line

The RAISE project is not frozen, abandoned, or at risk of disappearing. It is moving through a required federal process, including thorough approval processes, and the city of Excelsior Springs has decided to wait for reimbursement of costs already incurred before continuing further. 

While residents may not see immediate changes on the ground, significant work has already been completed, and more is expected to resume once the Grant Agreement is finalized.

 “We are ready to go as soon as the process allows us to.” Birdsong shared.

Below is a general timeline of the progress made so far, what is currently happening, and what steps are expected in the future.