Who fixes which road in Kansas City?

Why this is confusing

Kansas City, Missouri is a large and irregularly shaped city. It reaches into four counties — Jackson, Clay, Platte and Cass — and its boundary runs up against separate cities such as Independence, Raytown, Grandview, Gladstone and North Kansas City. Across the state line is Kansas City, Kansas, a different city entirely. Interstates and state highways run through all of them, and the pavement under you can change owners without any obvious sign.

This matters because a report only gets fixed if it reaches the agency whose crews maintain that road, and a damage claim only goes anywhere if it reaches the road's owner.

It also matters for reading this site. The KC Streets map is built entirely from Kansas City, Missouri's public 311 data. A pothole on I-435, on a Raytown street, or in a Johnson County parking lot won't appear there. That doesn't mean nobody reported it, only that it isn't in KCMO's system.

The quick answer

The basic reporting steps for city streets — what to include, and why the app beats the phone — are in how to report a pothole in Kansas City. This page is about the step before that: working out whose road it is.

State highways belong to MoDOT, even inside the city

Clay County's road department sums up the Missouri rule plainly: Missouri highways with number or letter names, US highways, and interstates are maintained by the Missouri Department of Transportation. That holds inside city limits too. I-70, I-35, I-435 and US-71 run through the middle of Kansas City, and a pothole on them is MoDOT's, not the city's — including the stretch of US-71 that becomes Bruce R. Watkins Drive heading into downtown.

The neighboring cities spell out the same split for their own state routes. Independence lists I-70, MO 291, US 40, US 24 and MO 78 (23rd Street) as MoDOT roads. Raytown notes that MO-350 is maintained by MoDOT. Grandview names US-71, I-49 and MO-150.

The easiest tell is the route marker. A red-white-and-blue interstate shield, a US highway shield, or a Missouri route sign with a number or a letter means you're on a state road. The lettered routes (Route D, Route N and so on) are easy to mistake for county roads, but they belong to MoDOT too.

MoDOT's Kansas City District, based in Lee's Summit, covers Jackson, Clay, Platte and Cass counties along with five others. Reports go through the statewide line, 1-888-275-6636 (1-888-ASK-MODOT), which is answered 24/7, or the Report a Road Concern form. MoDOT's Traveler Information map shows conditions on the state system, which makes it a quick way to confirm a road is part of it.

Interchanges, ramps, and spots where a city street crosses a highway are hard to judge from the driver's seat. If you can't tell, report to both MoDOT and 311.

County roads: only outside city limits

Counties maintain roads in unincorporated areas, meaning land that isn't inside any city. Inside city limits, the city maintains its own streets. That includes Kansas City's rural-looking roads at its far northern and southern edges: if they're inside the limits, they go to 311.

Jackson County Public Works maintains more than 425 miles of road in the county's unincorporated area and nothing inside its cities. Report problems at 816-847-7050 or through the county's online road maintenance request.

Clay County Road & Bridge (formerly the Highway Department) maintains more than 380 miles of roadway in unincorporated Clay County. Its Report a Concern page has a map that shades the county's approximate jurisdiction, lists every city in the county, and links to the reporting form. The department's phone number is 816-407-3300.

Platte County adds a layer. Unincorporated roads there are maintained either by the county's Department of Public Works (816-858-2223) or by one of four special road districts: Parkville, Platte City, Farley and Weston. Each district has its own elected commissioners, staff and equipment, and maintains the roads and bridges in its own area. The county's Road Districts & Cities page lists each district's phone number and links to district maps.

On the Kansas side, Johnson County Public Works handles the unincorporated county at 913-715-8300 or through an online request for service. Johnson County itself sends city-limits problems to the individual cities and highway problems to KDOT.

The cities people mistake for Kansas City

KCMO's 311 center can't send crews into another city, so a report about a Raytown street is going to end up closed. These cities run their own public works departments:

Independence — the Pot Hole Hotline, 816-325-7624.

Raytown — 816-737-6146, or email photos to roadconcern@raytown.mo.us.

Grandview — Public Works, 816-316-4838.

Gladstone — Public Works, 816-436-5442, or the city's online pothole form.

North Kansas City — City Hall, 816-274-6000, or the city's Report a Concern page.

Kansas City, Kansas is run by the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, which has its own 311: dial 311 locally, call 913-573-5311, or use myWyco online.

Overland Park takes street repair requests through OPCares. Olathe, Lenexa, Leawood, Shawnee and the other Johnson County cities each have their own channel, usually listed on the city's public works page.

Kansas handles state highways differently from Missouri. A state highway that runs through a Kansas city on city streets is called a City Connecting Link, and KDOT's maintenance program pays the city to maintain it. Interstates and fully controlled-access freeways are excluded from that program. So on the Kansas side, a state-numbered road inside a city may well be the city's to fix. If you're unsure, ask the city first.

Private streets, lots, and HOA roads

Apartment complex drives, shopping center lots, office parks, gas stations and private drives belong to whoever owns the property. No city or county crew will patch them. The same goes for streets in developments where the homeowners association, not the city, owns the pavement. If you're not sure whether your subdivision's streets are public, your HOA's documents or management company can tell you.

Public alleys in Kansas City are a different matter. They are city property, and 311 tracks alley potholes separately from street potholes.

How to tell where you are

Look at the signs. Route shields mark a state road. "City limits" signs mark boundaries on bigger roads, though many residential streets cross from one city to another without one.

Don't trust the mailing address. The city name in a mailing address isn't a reliable test of city limits, and a "Kansas City, MO" address near the edge of the city is worth checking on a map.

Use the agencies' own maps. Kansas City's Parcel Viewer lets you search a street address on the city's map. Clay County's Report a Concern map shows the county's jurisdiction, Platte County publishes its road district maps, and MoDOT's Traveler Information map covers the state system.

When in doubt, report it to 311 anyway. If the road isn't the city's, the ticket gets routed elsewhere or closed. You lose nothing, and the report still leaves a record that someone raised the problem. This is also one of the ordinary reasons a 311 ticket shows up as canceled in the data — more on what those statuses mean.

Damage claims go to whoever owns the road

If a pothole damaged your car, the claim goes to the road's owner, and each one has its own process. What to document first is covered in what to do when a pothole damages your car.

Kansas City, Missouri — claims go to the city, and Missouri law generally requires written notice within 90 days. The claim guide walks through it.

MoDOT — state-road claims are filed on MoDOT's online claim form, which asks for the roadway, direction of travel and location, and accepts photos and estimates. Questions go to COClaims@modot.mo.gov or 1-888-275-6636. MoDOT says submitting doesn't mean it accepts liability, that aftermarket wheels or tires could make you ineligible, and that it only pays for components directly damaged. Its form and FAQ list no filing deadline, but file while the evidence is fresh.

Missouri's sovereign immunity statute, RSMo 537.600, allows claims for a dangerous condition of public property and names MoDOT specifically. It requires that the agency either created the condition or had actual or constructive notice of it in time to act. A hole nobody had reported is a hard claim to win, which is why earlier reports matter.

Clay County — email the Road & Bridge Department your contact information, a detailed account (date, time, weather, speed, direction, location), a repair quote or invoice, and photos. The county forwards it to risk management, and its insurer handles the claim from there. The county notes that submitting doesn't mean it accepts liability.

Kansas City, Kansas — the Unified Government uses a Claim for Damages form, available from its Legal Department page and filed with the UG Clerk's Office at 701 North 7th Street, 3rd Floor. Kansas law (K.S.A. 12-105b) requires this kind of written notice to the city clerk or governing body before a lawsuit. The notice has to state the facts, the damage, and the amount requested. The city then has up to 120 days to act on it.

KDOT — Kansas state highway claims go through KDOT's property damage claims page. KDOT says the damage has to happen on a state highway that KDOT maintains, and that damage from an unpatched pothole generally isn't reimbursed unless KDOT already knew about it and didn't repair it in time.

If it is the city's road

Then 311 is the right place. Search the address to see whether it's already been reported, read how long Kansas City takes to fix potholes, or learn why Kansas City has so many potholes.