Markets and Transportation
Whether by highway, rail or air, Kansas offers excellent transportation and marketing advantages for your business. Because we’re centrally located, and because we’ve focused on building and maintaining an outstanding multimodal infrastructure, it’s easier and cheaper to ship to and from Kansas. We’re home to numerous production facilities, warehouses and distribution centers that have found shipping raw materials and finished goods is more profitable when you’re located in the nation’s heartland.
COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM
T-WORKS, the comprehensive transportation program passed by the 2010 Kansas Legislature, will not only preserve and improve the state’s multimodal transportation system; it will create tens of thousands of jobs.
The $7.8 billion T-WORKS program includes $2.5 billion in new revenues during the 10-year plan. The new revenues will come from increased registration fees for heavy trucks, additional bonding authority for KDOT and a sales tax deposit that takes effect in 2014. It is estimated that T-WORKS will create or sustain 175,000 direct and indirect jobs in Kansas over the next 10 years. The program passed by the Legislature provides $4.2 billion in highway preservation funding, ensuring that every mile of Kansas highway will see some preservation work. It also sets aside $1.8 billion in modernization and expansion project construction funds.
T-WORKS also provides $6 million a year for public transit services, which increases to $11 million a year in 2013, and $3 million a year in aviation funding, which increases to $5 million in 2014. The program also provides $5 million a year for rail infrastructure projects beginning in FY 2014. The legislation requires that KDOT spend a minimum of $8 million in each county in Kansas during the course of the program. It also gives KDOT the authority to manage debt under a debt service cap of 18 percent. The cap ensures that the amount the State Highway Fund (SHF) owes in debt service in any given year does not exceed 18 percent of the expected SHF revenues.
I-35/I-70 NAFTA CORRIDOR
Following passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement, America’s heartland entered a new era as an international trade crossroads. The 1,500 miles of I-35 and I-29 create the only central interstate highway corridor linking the three countries of North America. This corridor carries significant trade with Mexico and Canada.
It is no secret that some of the nation’s leading trucking lines have major facilities in Kansas City. Its strategic location at the convergence of I-35 and I-70 places it literally at the crossroads of America. Trucks leaving Kansas can quickly and efficiently reach the international ports on either coast or the NAFTA trade partners to the north and the south. Kansas City is one of the nation’s leading freight rail hubs as well, ranking first in annual rail tonnage and second in annual rail volume.
The designation of I-35 and I-29 as “high-priority corridors” in the early 1990s made these interstates eligible for additional federal funding through the National Corridor Planning and Development (NCPD) Program. Two successfully negotiated Memoranda of Understanding with the Treasury Department have helped eight states secure more than $30 million to improve transportation technology and infrastructure on these two major interstates. In addition, efforts are currently underway to develop prototype customs facilities in Kansas City, making it a “high-tech inland port.” KC SmartPort, a non-profit economic development organization, is the authority on logistics opportunities in the 18-county, bi-state Kansas City region. KC SmartPort promotes and enhances the Kansas City region’s status as a leading North American logistics hub, and its mission is two-fold: 1. To grow the Kansas City area’s transportation industry by attracting businesses with significant transportation and logistics elements; and 2. To make the industry and the region more competitive in the movement of goods into, out of and through the Kansas City bi-state region.
| Truck load |
| Zone 1 |
Zone 2 |
Zone 3 |
Zone 4 |
| Chicago |
New Orleans |
Miami |
Los Angeles |
| Memphis |
Atlanta |
Boston |
Seattle |
| Kansas City |
New York |
Phoenix |
Portland |
| Omaha |
Salt Lake City |
Billings |
San Francisco |
| Denver |
Houston |
Montreal, PQ |
Vancouver, BC |
| Des Moines |
Cincinnati |
Toronto, ON |
|
| Minneapolis/St. Paul |
Washington, D.C. |
|
|
| Dallas/Ft. Worth |
Baltimore |
|
|
| Indianapolis |
|
|
|
| Source: Survey of Buying Power, SBP-Online Report |
| Legal Width |
8.5 ft |
| Legal Height |
14.0 ft |
| Legal Length (single motor vehicle) |
45.0 ft |
| Legal Length (truck-trailer combinations) |
65.0 ft |
| Legal Length (each trailer when pulled in tandem) |
28.5 ft |
| Legal Length (tractor-trailer combinations) |
No limit |
HIGHWAYS
Kansas takes great pride in its excellent road system, which has resulted in Kansas being ranked No. 1 for having the best roads in the nation by Readers Digest in 2010. In addition, our state ranks third in total road mileage nationally with 140,512 total road and street miles and 10,579 highway miles (of which more than 875 miles are quality interstate four-lanes). We are a major trucking hub, with I-70 accessing the east and west coasts and I-35 running north and northeast to the Kansas/Missouri border. I-35 (KTA) connects with I-135 in Wichita and U.S. 81 at Salina to make a south to north corridor with Oklahoma and Nebraska. Another interstate, I-29, heads north from Kansas City and I-44, via U.S. 400, offers easy east-west, four-lane access in communities in southeast Kansas. Many other major highways, including U.S 54, U.S. 75, U.S. 59, U.S. 281, U.S. 283 and U.S. 83 make areas across the state convenient to travel.
Currently, there are over 1,000 private carriers, 350 intrastate for-hire carriers and over 9,500 Kansas-based motor carriers with intrastate and/or interstate operating authority licensed to operate in Kansas. Thanks to our state’s proximity to major markets, our transit times and shipping rates for common carriers can compete with any in the country. Kansas motor carrier regulations, covering truck and trailer size and weight, mirror many federal guidelines.
RAIL SERVICE
Kansas ranks in the top 10 in the United States in railroad mileage with 4,776 miles of track, 2.23 percent of all U.S. railroad miles. Our four Class I and 13 Class III (short line) rail carriers ensure freight service to virtually anywhere in Kansas, since the countless tons of grain grown here have for decades mandated a comprehensive rail system. Class I rail carriers roll over 2,790 miles of track throughout the state. The state’s Class III rail carriers use an additional 1,947 miles of track. Railroads continue to move more freight, increasing utilization of lines and efficiency of their operations.
More than 900 incorporated and unincorporated cities stand along Kansas’ tracks. Many communities are served by more than one railroad, and businesses in several cities can take advantage of reciprocal switching agreements between railroads. Three intermodal facilities operate in the Kansas City area. The Kansas City area, a convenient first stop en route to all major marketing regions, ranks as the second leading rail center in the nation.
Kansas is home to two switching and terminal railroads and two intermodal facilities. BNSF Railway is building a $1 billion intermodal transportation facility and logistics park in southwest Johnson County. The intermodal is scheduled to be operational in late 2013. It is scheduled to have the following: 535 developable acres; over 7 million total square feet developable; nearly 3 million square feet - direct rail-served; projected $750 million private investment for development; foreign trade zone and heavy-weight corridor also available.
| Destination |
Rail Shipments |
| Atlanta |
5 Days |
| Boston |
6 Days |
| Chicago |
2 Days |
| Cleveland |
5 Days |
| Dallas |
3 Days |
| Denver |
2 Days |
| Detroit |
5 Days |
| Kansas City |
1 Day |
| Los Angeles |
5 Days |
| Memphis |
3 Days |
| New York |
7 Days |
| Omaha |
2 Days |
| Oklahoma City |
2 Days |
| Philadelphia |
6 Days |
| Phoenix |
3 Days |
| St. Louis |
2 Days |
| Seattle |
5 Days |
Kansas Turnpike regulations are similar to those
for other Kansas highways with a few exceptions:
- Trailers 59.5 feet each may be pulled in combination
- Maximum length is 125 feet without prior authorization
- Maximum gross weight is 120,000 pounds
- Maximum width is 12 feet without prior authorization
(K.S.A. 2000 Supp. 8-1904, K.S.A. 8-1908, 8-1909)
|
| Single Axle |
20,000 lbs |
| Tandem Axle |
34,000 lbs* |
Kansas Highway Gross Weight Limits
|
| Interstate Highway |
80,000 lbs |
| Other Highways |
85,500 lbs |
| * Tandem axles with center less than 40 inches apart are considered one axle. |
| Class I Carriers |
Main Line
Owned |
Lines Leased
to Class III |
Miles
Operated |
Trackage
Rights |
Burlington Northern Santa Fe
Railway |
1,237 |
0 |
1,237 |
449 |
| Kansas City Southern |
18 |
0 |
18 |
0 |
| Norfolk Southern |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
| Union Pacific System |
1,800 |
265 |
1,535 |
837 |
| Class I Total |
3,055 |
265 |
2,790 |
1,289 |
| Class III Carriers |
Main Line
Owned |
Lines Leased
From Class I |
Miles
Operated |
Trackage
Rights |
Blackwell Northern Gateway
Railroad |
18 |
0 |
18 |
0 |
| Blue Rapids Railroad |
10 |
0 |
10 |
0 |
| Boot Hill & Western Railroad |
10 |
0 |
10 |
1 |
| Cimarron Valley Railroad |
183 |
0 |
183 |
4 |
| Garden City Western Railroad |
45 |
0 |
45 |
0 |
| Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad |
642 |
111 |
753 |
36 |
| KYLE |
271 |
134 |
405 |
13 |
| Missouri & Northern Arkansas |
0 |
8 |
8 |
0 |
Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado
Railway, Inc. |
122 |
0 |
122 |
17 |
| South Kansas & Oklahoma |
305 |
0 |
305 |
44 |
| V & S Railway |
25 |
0 |
25 |
2 |
| Kansas City Terminal |
27 |
0 |
27 |
0 |
| New Century AirCenter Railway |
5 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
| Wichita Terminal Association |
3 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
| Class III Total |
1,666 |
254 |
1,929 |
117 |
| Grand Total |
4,721 |
519 |
4,719 |
1,406 |
| Source: Kansas Department of Transportation, Kansas State Rail Plan 2011 |
AIR SERVICE
Convenient access and direct routes to all national air service hubs is afforded by airports strategically located across all regions of the state. In the Kansas City area, Kansas City International Airport (KCI) is the primary passenger and cargo service provider for Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, and Nebraska. KCI is noted for its easy gate access and is described as “the world’s most people-friendly airport.” Click here to view the passenger service airlines. An extensive highway system permits easy transit of goods from Kansas businesses to KCI, which also provides state-of the-art cargo handling facilities.
In the Wichita or South Central region of Kansas, Wichita Mid-Continent Airport (ICT) provides over 40 daily departures to major hubs throughout the United States, including Chicago, Denver, Minneapolis, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and Los Angeles. Federal Express, UPS Supply Chain Solutions and UPS provide cargo service from Mid-Continent. Mid-Continent accommodates all aircraft and is demonstrating its commitment to innovation by constructing a state of the art terminal. Click here to view the passenger service airlines
Mid-Continent’s campus of 3,300 acres is home to more than 70 businesses including air cargo, hotels, restaurants, aircraft manufacturers, aircraft service and repairs, and government functions. Mid-Continent is conveniently located 5.2 miles southwest of the Central Business District, bordered on the north by U.S. Highway 54/400 and on the south by Highway K-42. It also provides easy access to and from Interstate 235. Supplementing Mid-Continent Airport is Colonel James Jabara Airport, a general aviation reliever airport for the Wichita metro area. Located nine miles northeast of the Central Business district, Jabara Airport consists of 802 acres, of which, 208 acres are available for aviation development.
In the North Central region, the Manhattan Regional Airport (MHK) provides jet service daily to Chicago and Dallas/ Fort Worth. Also in the central region, the Salina Regional Airport (SLN) provides turboprop service to Kansas City.
In the Central and Northwest region, flights to Denver are available daily from Great Bend and Hays via turboprop aircraft.
In Southwest Kansas, Garden City Regional Airport (GCK) provides daily jet service to Dallas / Fort Worth. Commercial flights to Denver depart from the Dodge City airport (DDC) and are provided by turboprop aircraft.
Air cargo carriers serving Kansas include Airborne Express, Air Cargo Carriers, Baron Aviation, BAX Global, Central Air Southwest, DHL Airways, EGL, Emery Worldwide, Federal Express, Kitty Hawk, Planemasters, United Parcel Service and the United States Postal Service. Most commercial airlines also offer small package delivery services to businesses.
There are approximately 140 public use airports in Kansas. No community in Kansas is more than 30 miles from a public use airport. Approximately 91 percent of the population is within a 45-minute drive to an airport with a runway of 5,000 feet or longer with jet fuel available and a precision (or LPV) approach.
Many air/industrial parks now operate on the sites of former military bases, serving as attractive, low-cost locations for businesses seeking independent air services for cargo and company personnel.
Kansas’ involvement in aviation is legendary. More than 55 percent of the general aviation aircraft produced in the United States originates in Kansas. Hawker Beechcraft, Cessna and Bombardier Learjet are headquartered in Wichita, including an Airbus engineering center. In addition, Spirit AeroSystems operates a major research, manufacturing and assembly complex in Kansas, and numerous adjacent support businesses complement the Wichita aircraft industry. The aviation avionics industry is located in other parts of Kansas, as well. The corporate headquarters of Garmin and the avionics division of Honeywell are located in Olathe, Kan., in the Kansas City Metropolitan area.
.
INLAND WATERWAYS
Kansas has access to 122 miles of the Missouri River along the northeast corner of the state. Kansas has a total of eight commercial terminals located near Atchison, Leavenworth, Lansing, White Cloud and Kansas City. The Port of Kansas City – Woodswether Terminal – is located within one mile of downtown Kansas City and the interstate highway loop at River mile 367.1 on the south bank of the Missouri River. The 7-acred terminal recently underwent two significant phases of construction to address infrastructure ingress/egress and warehousing repairs.
Foodstuffs, fertilizer, scrap steel, cement and other raw materials, as well as machinery, comprise the bulk of shipments. The shipping season generally lasts between eight and nine months.
The Port of Catoosa, an inland seaport located near Tulsa, Okla., is approximately 50 miles from the Kansas border. The South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad and the BNSF Railway provide direct rail access to the Port. It is a year-round, economical alternative to other means of travel and is especially advantageous to businesses manufacturing large goods that need to be assembled prior to shipping. The Port has been approved for a $6.4 million grant in federal funds for a $13 million rehabilitation of the main dock. This rehabilitation should be completed within the next 18 to 24 months.
FOREIGN TRADE ZONES
Foreign trade zones (FTZ) in Kansas provide a duty-free and quota-free entry point for foreign goods into specific areas under customs supervision for an unlimited period of time. Kansas has three such zones, located in Kansas City, Topeka and Wichita.
The Kansas City area zone has six activated FTZ general purpose warehouse operations and four manufacturing/processing sub-zones. The general purpose warehouse zones include underground warehousing space available for dry storage, freezer storage or refrigeration; several surface sites are also available featuring warehouse facilities from 50,000 square feet to one million square feet with rail service, shipping docks and cross docks, security features and other requirements, some of which are located adjacent to the Missouri River.
The Topeka zone encompasses nearly 3,400 acres at two locations: Forbes Field and Phillip Billard Airport (Topeka Air Industrial
Park).
The Wichita zone encompasses 280 acres and includes 800,000 square feet of covered warehouse and assembly space, as well as building sites for new manufacturing facilities. There are a total of three sub-zones (special purpose zones) in south central Kansas – one is located in McPherson and one is in El Dorado. Both locations are inactive status currently. The third is at Hawker Beechcraft Company, which was granted sub-zone permission for manufacturing. Goods admitted to a general purpose zone or sub-zone may be stored, manipulated or mixed with domestic or foreign materials used in manufacturing processes or exhibited for sale. Depending on the nature of the imported goods admitted to the zone and the tariff classification of finished products entered from the zone to the United States customs territory, duties and fees may be reduced or eliminated. Goods exported from a foreign trade zone to foreign nations are never subject to U.S. customs duties.
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