ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
Five years ago, the Kansas Legislature overwhelmingly passed the Eisenhower Legacy Transportation Program, or IKE for short.
Officials with the Kansas Department of Transportation got to work, and IKE is already making a difference in communities across the state.
As part of the program, KDOT hosts local consults every two years as the agency’s public engagement process for IKE. KDOT is in the process of wrapping up this year’s consults, with final events scheduled to take place this week and early next week.
Liberal’s local consult took place Tuesday, Oct. 21, and KDOT Secretary Calvin Reed called the events an exhausting, but fun time for agency leaders.
“We get to come out, and we get to speak with you,” he said. “This is our opportunity to hear how we’re doing. You guys are our customers. The folks who are traveling on our highways are our customers, and we need to understand how we are doing in providing service to our customers. This is an opportunity for you guys to provide that feedback and also give us some information about how we can plan for the future.”
Reed said 2025 marks the halfway mark for the 10-year IKE comprehensive transportation program, and he said that makes for a good time to look back at what has been accomplished so far and envisioning what will become in the program’s second half.
“At the halfway point, the legislature has set some clear targets for us we needed to meet by the halfway point,” he said. “They did not want this to be a back-loaded program or a front-loaded program. They wanted to make sure this program had meaningful investments throughout the 10-year period.”
Reed said the legislature set some targets for regional investment for IKE, and at the halfway point, all of those targets have been met. He added transportation leaders got help in achieving these goals.
“This is monumental for us to get as far as we have in the first five years, and KDOT did not do that alone,” he said. “It is a partnership. We have a great group of contractors in this state. We have a great group of design consultants who understand Kansas and what the average Kansan needs in transportation. Those partnerships are very important. Thank you to our contractors and consultants.”
Reed said the Kansas Legislature has a continued vision for how investments in transportation support the Kansas economy and the Kansas way of life.
“I’m continually impressed by our legislature and their understanding of how important transportation is,” he said. “You have some great advocates here in Southwest Kansas and all across the state for how transportation supports our way of life.”
Reed said local consults such as last week’s give residents a chance to help KDOT develop the next round of transportation projects.
“You’re helping us identify those needs that are out on our system right now,” he said. “Maybe we know about them. Maybe we don’t know about them. This is your opportunity to tell us so we can figure out and work together with you on solutions to those problems you guys are encountering every day.”
Reed said IKE was originally envisioned to be a $10-billion program, but since 2020, as the program has developed, that estimate has changed. He added a large portion of that money is used for preservation of roads.
“When you take into account the state highway system and all of our local roads, we’ve got about 138,000 miles of public use roadway in the state of Kansas,” he said. “It takes a lot to keep that up, and it’s very important we keep maintaining those roads so they serve you as well as possible.”
The remainder of IKE funds, Reed said, is for modernization and expansion of the Kansas highway system, and he said KDOT officials need to be strategic about modernization.
“What we’re talking about is bringing a roadway up to current design standards,” he said. “We need to be very strategic about those modernization projects and expansion projects.”
Reed said transportation concerns are not limited to ground vehicles.
“Aviation is a critical part of community development in a lot of our communities in Kansas,” he said. “We’ve got rail investment. We’ve got bike and pedestrian facilities, our trail system, and we’ve got transit. All of those are extremely important investments in different parts of the state.”
Funding for road projects is available through KDOT’s Cost Share and Economic Development programs, and Reed said these give community leaders to let agency officials know of local transportation issues.
“In the case of Cost Share, it can be a very broad problem,” he said. “We need help trying to fix that problem, and that help comes in terms of funding. You guys have a problem. We try to come help you, support you in addressing that problem. Those have been really successful programs at addressing a wide scale of community needs across the state.”
Reed said about $4.5 billion has been invested in preservation projects across the state in IKE’s first five years.
“What does that really amount to in terms of what’s being built on our highways?” he said. “Over 9,000 miles of highways have been improved, and over 530 bridges.”
Reed emphasized those highways and bridges are in place to serve Kansans.
“That really is an investment in is our citizens being able to move around more efficiently, more safely out on our system,” he said. “Those are important investments not just for Southwest Kansas but all of Kansas.”
Reed said the 10-year target for preservation in the IKE program has been met in all six KDOT districts.
“If you look at Southwest Kansas, we’ve had 29 bridges, over 1,300 miles of roadway improved, $411 million in investment, which is 82 percent of the way to our target,” he said.
Reed said KDOT will continue investing at appropriate levels across the state. He then talked about modernization and expansion projects, where a few projects from the previous transportation program, Transportation Works for Kansas (T-WORKS) had to be completed, including some in Southwest Kansas before IKE projects could be started.
“When we put those together, we’ve had $170 million investment here in Southwest Kansas in modernization and expansion of our highway system,” he said.
The dairy industry is on the rise in Southwest Kansas, including the recent completion of the Hilmar Cheese Company dairy in Dodge City, and other larger dairies are looking to expand their operations. Reed said KDOT wants to make sure they are supporting not only dairies, but also the cities and counties providing the transportation system for that industry.
“A lot of the economic development dollars have gone towards those improvements to help make sure the dairy industry can move as efficiently as possible here in Southwest Kansas,” he said.
Reed said every Kansan should benefit from the dollars KDOT is investing in highways across the state.
“We are required in the statute to invest at least $8 million in each of our 105 counties,” he said. “I’m happy to report at the halfway point of our program, we have invested at least $8 million in 101 out of 105 counties.”
Reed said KDOT is likewise committed to continue to invest beyond that $8 million.
“We know each of our citizens need to experience of these transportation investments,” he said. “We are committed to that. We are serious about that.”
As for what was needed from the local consult, Reed said KDOT needs local residents to help prioritize investments for the remainder of the IKE program and maybe look into a future transportation program.
“We know we are not going to address every need in the next five years,” he said.
Among some projects in Southwest Kansas are a new four-lane expressway on U.S. Highway 50 between Cimarron and Dodge City was opened earlier this year, and construction is under way on Kansas Highway 156 in Hodgeman County on a 15-mile modernization project that has been a priority for many in the area for years. Reed said investments will continue to be made in these corridors and others across the state.
Reed said these projects and others benefit people, but they also impact landowners and businesses.
“We need to incorporate all of that into our design,” he said. “We come up with the best overall design that provides the most benefit and the least impact at the right cost. That doesn’t just happen. That takes time. We have to bring people along. We have to bring communities along. It is a process. Once we get far enough into that process, we’re ready for construction.”
Reed said KDOT leaders are confident projects will continue to progress across the Sunflower State.
“That construction will happen, and you will be able to benefit from the improvements to our transportation system,” he said.
