Kansas City voters approve a single terminal at KCI by a huge margin

Kansas City voters on Tuesday delivered a staggering result in favor of a new terminal at KCI.

Throughout the metro, votes in favor of a new, $1 billion single terminal at KCI were vastly outpacing those against the idea.

All precincts in Clay and Platte counties were in shortly before 9 p.m. on Tuesday. In Platte County, KCI won with 74 percent of the vote, according to unofficial tallies. In Clay County, the measure passed with 71 percent of the vote.

The Kansas City Election Board, which reports for Kansas City voters south of the Missouri River, had posted about half its precincts by 9 p.m. In those results, KCI was passing with 79 percent of the vote.

Tuesday’s vote amounted to a stunningly strong show of support for a single terminal. For six years, perhaps more, City Hall has clamored for a new terminal to replace the current three-terminal format that opened up in 1972. Civic and political leaders decried KCI as an old, dusty and inefficient airport, but at times got pushback from those who thought the airport was convenient for travelers.

Tuesday’s vote was a remarkable result, given the protracted and at times messy procurement process for finding a developer to design and build KCI. In the end, the Kansas City Council chose Edgemoor Infrastructure & Real Estate over AECOM and Burns & McDonnell, which had previously discussed a sole source contract with city leaders for the project.

This story was originally published November 7, 2017 at 8:03 PM with the headline "Kansas City voters approve a single terminal at KCI by a huge margin."