ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
Seward County and some other counties are about to get some funding thanks to some recent action by the State of Kansas.
Last Thursday, Gov. Laura Kelly and Transportation Secretary Calvin Reed announced $8.6 million will be awarded to 14 transportation construction projects through the Kansas Department of Transportation’s Cost Share Program for spring 2024. The announcement was made in Edwardsville.
“These new Cost Share projects will repair and modernize transportation infrastructure in communities across Kansas,” Gov. Kelly noted in a release from the State of Kansas. “Collaboration on these selected projects address short-term challenges to bring long-term solutions to the places Kansans call home. The 104th Street sidewalk expansion in the City of Edwardsville as a prime example of how a Cost Share project can benefit a community. Enhancements to the city’s pedestrian facilities will fill the largest gap in pedestrian access between K-32 and the elementary school and encourage safe non-motorized access to school and recreational activities. With this announcement, more than $260 million has been invested to support the 179 projects selected in the Cost Share Program since it began in the fall of 2019. Combining more than $146 million in state funding with more than $115 million in matching local funds has been a substantial boost to Kansas communities.”
Both rural and urban areas can submit transportation projects that improve safety, support job retention and growth, relieve congestion, and improve access and mobility. The program is part of the Kelly administration’s 10-year, bipartisan Eisenhower Legacy Transportation Program, or IKE.
The projects are:
• City of Baxter Springs – Bagcraft Boulevard improvements.
• City of Edwardsville – 104th Street sidewalk expansion.
• City of Fort Scott – East National Avenue project.
• City of Hesston – East-west community connection.
• City of Hoisington – Green and Vine Street resurfacing and pedestrian improvements.
• City of Inman – Street improvements for Nikkel Addition.
• City of Norton – Oliver Lane and Franklin Avenue paving project.
• City of Sabetha – Kansas Road and 14th Street surfacing.
• City of St. John – St. John Street improvements.
• City of Wamego – Kaw Valley Road improvements.
• Cloud County – Noble Road pavement preservation project.
• Lane County – Airport runway and county road improvements.
• Seward County – Meade Lake Road HMA overlay.
• Wallace County – Smoky Hill River low water crossings project.
More information about KDOT’s Cost Share Program is on KDOT’s website at https://www.ksdot.org/CostShare/CostShareProgram.asp.
