KC SmartPort - A Historical Emergence
1821
In 1821, Westport Landing is established on the banks of the Missouri River to handle the shipment of goods for travelers moving west.
1839
In 1839, Westport Landing becomes the Town of Kansas.
1853
The City of Kansas is incorporated by the state of Missouri
on March 28, 1853.
1864
The first locomotive for the Missouri Pacific Railroad (Kansas City's first railroad) came to Kansas City by boat, with a shipment of four flat cars and 100 tons of iron rails, delivered June 21, 1864. The locomotive was placed onto tracks in September of the same year.
1869
The first bridge across the Missouri River is completed, making Kansas City a transportation hub. This bridge was the 1,371-foot Hannibal Bridge.
1914
Union Station, the nation's second largest station behind New York's Grand Central, opens. The Station cost $5.7 million and was part of a massive $50 million railroad development project that also funded railroad tracks, rights of way, underpasses and viaducts, bridges and other improvements related to Union Station and the expanding railroad industry. (Today, metropolitan Kansas City is the second busiest rail center in the United States.)
1914
The original Hannibal Bridge is replaced by a new one a few feet west that had a double deck -- one for trains and the other for motor vehicles. The rail deck is still used today, but the vehicle deck was removed when the current Broadway Bridge opened in 1956.
1927
The first passenger plane landed at the Kansas City Municipal Airport on August 17, 1927.
1949
In 1949, approximately 848,000 passengers passed through Municipal Airport.
1966
Voters approve a $150 million bond issue for Mid-Continent International Airport, which later became the Kansas City International Airport, which was dedicated in 1972.
1973
Order No. 93, March 23, 1973 Grant to the Greater Kansas City Foreign-Trade Zone, Inc., to establish Foreign-Trade Zone No. 15 at Kansas City, Missouri.
Signed by Frederick B. Dent, Secretary of Commerce, Chairman of the Board (38 F.R. 8622; April 4, 1973).
1994
North American Superhighway Coalition is formed.
View this organization's web site: http://www.nascocorridor.com/
1997
North American International Trade Corridor Partnership is formed.
The NAITCP has since merged with NASCO.
1998
I-35 Trade Corridor Study was conducted.
Follow this link to the Executive Summary of the Final Report.
1999
Mid-Continent TradeWay Study was conducted.
The following link will take you to the study's report by the Mid America Regional Council: http://www.marc.org/transportation/tradeway.htm
2001
Kansas City SmartPort, Inc. is founded.
2002
KC SmartPort hosts "A Bridge to the Future" conferfence bringing together more than 300 business and government leaders.
2003
KC SmartPort coins the term inland port with a new branding of KC SmartPort as America's Inland Port Solution.
2004
KC SmartPort receives first of several Federal funding obligations for an Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) focused on private sector supply chain visibility and efficiency.
2005
FedEx Ground announces a new 250,000 sq. ft. regional sorting facility making it the second facility for FedEx Ground in the greater KC region.
2006
KC SmartPort and partners announce four major new distribution centers locating in the greater KC region totaling more than 1.1 million sq. ft. of new space.
2006
KC SmartPort's ITS project -- Trade Data Exchange -- completes proof of concept tests. Live freight tests prove the data integration and visibility system has the potential to cut freight shipment times by two thirds.
2007
Three major intermodal projects announced in the KC region.
2007
KC ranks #1 in the Logistics Today annual ranking of logistics friendly cities.
2008
CenterPoint - KCS Intermodal Center has ribbon cutting on the KCS intermodal facility and turns dirt on the industrial park. CenterPoint will have 5-6 million sq. ft. of new distribution space at full build out.
2008
Trade Data Exchange goes live with Phase 1. The TDE begins operating for companies exporting products into Mexico.
2009
TrakLokTM Corporation (TrakLok) successfully completed its first international test of its GeoLokTM locking and tracking solution for shipping containers.
2009
The Regional Freight Outlook study is completed. Download the Executive Summary.
2010
Ray LaHood, US Secretary of Transportation, awards the Green Impact Zone with $50 million in TIGER grant funding.
2010
The inaugural meeting of the Trade Data Exchange (TDE) Board of Directors officially launches the Trade Data Exchange.
