Why is there a 19-foot-deep hole in a Kansas City parking lot?
Where you used to park at the Westport Sun Fresh is now a gaping hole in the ground.
The ditch that’s up to 19 feet deep dwarfs the heavy machinery inside of it. The construction worker at the bottom looks like an orange dot, and the sound of beeping and gravel moving rings through the area.
The parking lot is one of many parts of Kansas City’s Westport neighborhood currently under construction.
Turning into Westport from Southwest Trafficway is an obstacle course of heavy machinery, cones and other cars. And Westport Road does not connect with the Sun Fresh shopping center from either the east or the west, leaving only one way to get to the Raising Cane’s drive-thru.
While navigating Westport by car or on foot is chaotic right now, the goal is to prevent destruction in the future.
Crews are demolishing Westport infrastructure to construct an underground storage basin to hold water that previously would have flooded Westport buildings.
Westport flood prevention
The Westport Stormwater Improvements Project, organized by KC Water, includes building two reservoirs and a channel under Mill Street to route stormwater to them.
The storage basins will be able to hold 3.5 million gallons and will be located underneath the Westport Sun Fresh parking lot and the Dr. Jeremiah Cameron Park at the intersection of Broadway Boulevard and 43rd Street. Mill Street will be reconstructed with trees and permeable pavers to slow runoff.
Construction began in spring 2025 and is expected to continue until summer 2027, with a pause in summer 2026 for the World Cup. The $23.5 million project is funded by the city’s general obligation bonds.
The Sun Fresh parking lot currently has a hole as wide as a football field and over 80 yards long, according to Burns & McDonnell, the engineering firm that is both designing and building the project. This ditch will be filled by the end of April, weather and unforeseen circumstances permitting.
A historically flood-prone area
The low-lying area of Westport, most visibly the intersection of Westport Road and Mill Street, tends to flood during storms. This is because Mill Street was built over what was Mill Creek.
The creek powered Westport Mill, which was located at the northwest corner of Westport Road and Mill Street, where the current day shopping center with FedEx is located. The Spalding 1855 map of Westport shows an illustration of the mill.
Flooding has long been an issue in this area of Westport. In 1999, waist-high water filled the parking lot of Westport House, the high-rise apartment building to the south of the Sun Fresh.
The general manager told The Star at the time, “Every time we get one of these heavy downpours, it’s all over. Every time Westport Road floods, Mill Street floods. The sewer system is not large enough to handle the water.”
Local businesses cope with construction
Located just off of Westport Road, New Peking Chinese restaurant has experienced downsides of both the flooding and the construction that aims to fix it. The restaurant has operated from the same Westport address since 1988, according to Star archives.
Longtime staff member Toni remembered a storm before the pandemic when water streamed through the front doors, past the entry hallway and the hostess stand into the dining room.
“It was really bad,” said Toni, who declined to give her last name.
“We do kind of get concerned if it rains too hard.”
Since October when construction started near the restaurant, Toni said people getting takeout call for directions or to complain about the construction.
“There are people who order the food and see they cannot find it, so they cancel their order,” she said.
From the door of The Big Biscuit, on the east side of the Sun Fresh parking lot, the land drops off past the sidewalk.
At midday Thursday, construction workers mingled with a birthday party and solo lunchers at the brunch restaurant. From their tables, the patrons got a front row view of the underbelly of Westport.
This story was originally published January 25, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
