Raymore officials say transfer of 155th Street from Kansas City is close after years of delays

Raymore — Raymore city staff told council Monday that the long-running effort to take control of the north half of 155th Street from Kansas City has progressed and could reach Raymore for an ordinance reading soon.

Mister Fearborn reviewed the history, including a prior cost-share to rebuild the bridge on 155th Street and a roughly $750,000-per-city cost-share for the improvement when the two cities cooperated. He said Kansas City’s planning commission and council advanced the detachment ordinance to first reading and that Raymore’s mayor and staff plan to testify in favor of the ordinance the following morning.

"The long national nightmare is nearly over on this," Fearborn said, describing repeated attempts to secure Kansas City’s concurrence and citing delays tied in part to a proposed landfill that altered Kansas City’s plans. He added that once detachment and annexation are completed Raymore will assume maintenance responsibilities and that the parcel will remain under the same county jurisdictions — the action does not change county boundaries, he said.

Fearborn estimated near-term maintenance for a problematic 300-yard stretch will cost on the order of $25,000 within the next 24 months, and he noted the city would not plan major widening until further development supports it. He also flagged operational issues that drove the change: shared jurisdiction complicates emergency response and routine maintenance.

No formal action was required Monday; staff said they expect Kansas City’s committee to hear the ordinance quickly and that Raymore could see an emergency read on its own calendar if the Kansas City council finalizes the move this week.