ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
Many roads in Seward County are in need of constant repair, and plans have been made for several of those roads for the near future.
Administrator April Warden recently discussed some of the work the county has on the schedule for roads, and one major section in need of improvement is in the area of Road O and Road P.
Warden said the two roads have inadequate surface conditions due to high truck traffic, weather conditions and soil composition.
“You get dumped on all at once and then have dry conditions other times of the year,” she said. “There is also high residential traffic on those roads. They live there more than other places in the county. There’s a lot of residents along those roadways. Dust control is often a concern. Anytime you have a base that gets broken down breaks away, there’s a lot of dust that’s created.”
Warden said an official traffic count on Road O and Road P has yet to be conducted, but she did say hundreds of trucks travel those roads on a daily basis.
“A lot of that is the location of Heifer Source, as well as the ethanol plant,” she said. “There are products being hauled to those two places. There are many farmers who utilize those roadways, as well as the typical traffic loads.”
When Road O and Road P were initially constructed, Warden said they did not carry the traffic volumes they do now, and while the ethanol plant and Heifer Source are welcome sights, they invite the heavy traffic now seen.
“A lot of those trucks are overweight,” she said. “There’s large equipment. The farm equipment these days is completely different than what we originally had when those roads were constructed, and there’s an overall higher demand of use on those roads.”
Warden said the costs associated with maintaining Road O and Road P is substantial, and persistent rehabilitation was not anticipated.
“The operators who work those roads will work them one day, and the next day, we’re already getting calls for repairs and work again,” she said. “Those roads experience a lot of rutting, washboards, potholes, loose aggregate, dust, drainage. The ground has been beat down too, as well as the gravel quality and quanity of material in general. There’s a lot of issues with those two roads.”
At this time, Warden said work is being to narrow the roads to today’s standards to avoid additional grading passes having to be made. She added this creates a false ditch or material preventing proper drainage.
“This also would save us time on labor and fuel expense of having to make those extra passes,” she said. “The road’s gotten so wide it almost requires a third pass. Then you’re leaving that extra ridge, which then starts affecting the drainage.”
Warden said narrowing the roads will consist of cleaning and reshaping ditches.
“There is spot repair that’s taking place, rehabilitation and reconstruction,” she said. “We have also taken soil samples, and we’ll be adding caliche to build a stronger base. You have to have some time of caliche or clay-like material to help build that road base.”
Once rehabilitation and reconstruction have taken place, Warden said the soil stabilizer Perma-Zyme will be applied, and this should create a concrete surface, which will lower maintenance, repairs and dust.
“It should reduce the cost,” she said.
Warden said dust on the roads creates visibility and safety hazards. County commissioners recently reduced the speed limits to 45 mph, and that effort is being assisted by the Seward County Sheriff’s office.
“They aren’t issuing tickets on that right now, but they are pulling people over and saying please note the reduction in speed,” she said. “Eventually, they will be ticketing violators.”
Another major focus of road work is the Satanta Cutoff. That road is commonly referred to as Old Highway 83 and was constructed prior to current safety standards being put in place.
Warden said when the Kansas Department of Transportation builds new highways such as the current U.S. Highway 83, old roadways such as the Satanta Cutoff become the county’s responsibility for maintenance. She added boxes and culverts are too narrow, making the slopes for ditches too steep and causing shoulders to fail.
“We are putting in reinforced concrete culverts, extending those, reducing the slope, repairing the shoulders and asphalt overlaying it,” she said. “This work will take until 2026. We did apply for a High Risk Rural Road grant and did receive it. The grant is for $976,000 of which the county has to match $202,000. This grant covers the Satanta Cutoff between 0.2 miles north of Road 16 and 1.3 miles north of Road 16 to flatten and widen slopes and extend culverts.”
The county recently hired the civil engineering firm Kirkham Michael & Associates to assist with reviewing roads and creating long-term plans and roadway design.
“They are available to us when questions arise regarding issues and assignments that need to be made,” Warden said. “They have helped us obtain grant opportunities, develop bid documents and structural design for the Massoni Bridge. They are on site at least one day a month, and they aslo attend one commission meeting a month to provide updates.”
Warden said the county is looking at examining not just Road O, Road P and the Satanta Cutoff, but all roads in the county.
“We completed the core sampling of the asphalt roads to get a better idea of prioritization – what needs to be addressed first and what the condition of our base is, what product was actually used on those asphalt roads – and put a plan into place to maintain what we have and prolong the life of the roadway, as well as replacing it and improving it as budget allows,” she said.
Warden said gravel and dirt roads are being examined to see which are minor collector and major collector roads.
“That’s going to be based primarily on traffic volumes, as well as other factors such as school bus routes, the number of people in those areas, etc.,” she said.
Warden said the county is likewise looking at culvert work.
“We’re needing to get a good inventory taken, cleaning replacing those,” she said. “We need to consider what other work needs to be done to the culvert? Does it need to be elevated more? The goal is to examine all of our roads and prioritize.”
At this time, Seward County Road and Bridge has filled all of its open positions, but Warden said maintaining and training staff to run the department efficiently and effectively has been a struggle.
“There is a massive stress that goes along with turnover and continually looking for qualified staff,” she said.
Warden said this too has reduced productivity for Road and Bridge.
“It has definitely had a negative impact in the department, but the staff continues to push forward,” she said. “The seasoned staff who have remained with us are very passionate about what they do and are often not recognized for their efforts in the public eye.”
Seward County was recently awarded two grants, one an HRRR grant for work on the Satanta Cutoff and the other a Cost Share grant for work on Meade Lake Road, both from KDOT. Warden said requests for bids were put out, but the county’s timeline was too aggressive.
“We were wanting to try and asphalt approximately 10 miles of road in 2024,” she said. “We did not receive bids, and in talking with a local contractor, they have many jobs to complete in 2024 and several booked for 2025.”
Warden said obtaining aggregate materials at this time is difficult as well.
“We are going to add in an additional asphalt overlay project on the north leg of the Satanta Cutoff and bid out all projects again for completion in 2025,” she said.
Another major project the county has been working on for decades is the Massoni Bridge west of Kismet. Warden said thanks in large part to Kansas 125th House District Representative Shannon Francis and U.S. Senator Jerry Moran, some progress has been made recently.
“The county has applied to the Senate Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development,” she said. “The cost for this project is estimated at $2,970,000. We would be responsible for a $594,000 match in which we will be applying for a Build Kansas Fund for match assistance.”
Warden said design has been started on the project and set to be completed by the end of 2024.
“The initial concept plans have been submitted to the Union Pacific Railroad, and the preliminary plans have been approved,” she said.
Warden said UP has authorized the project to move to the next stage plan development.
“Environmental review has started,” she said. “The project involves the replacement of the Massoni Bridge.”
The existing bridge, Warden said, is a steel girder-floor beam bridge with timber approach spans built in 1938 with a length of 124 feet and width of 19 feet.
“The structure is in poor condition,” she said. “The existing bridge is considered structurally deficient. The width does not meet current standards and results in a poor deck width. The bridge also has a poor roadway alignment with a sharp curve located just off of the north end of the bridge and a T-intersection located just off of the south end of the bridge. The system that comprises the main span is fracture critical. If one of the girders were to fail, the bridge would collapse.”
Warden said a new bridge is proposed to be constructed on an offset alignment about 520 feet northeast of the existing bridge, with a 60 feet by 100 feet by 60 feet prestressed concrete beam continuous span bridge with a 28-feet width.
“Realignment of Road T and Road 14 will be included to improve the route,” she said. “The new bridge will be designed to carry legal loads and allow for agricultural equipment to cross at this location. Light traffic will be carried on the existing bridge until the new bridge is open. Once the new bridge is open to traffic, the existing bridge will be removed.”
Warden said the bridge is critical to farming and ranching and county residents, as well as a vital crossing link.
“It is common for trains to block access to and from Kismet for hours,” she said. “This delays emergency response times vehicles have to travel around on alternate routes. This bridge provides an alternate location to cross the tracks.”
Warden said the bridge is also critical for emergency response.
“A wider bridge will better serve industry that relies on the bridge being in service,” she said.
Warden said the county has struggled to maintain roads, and much of this is due to budget constraints, inflation of materials, fuel, parts, availability of parts and equipment and the price of equipment.
“In a couple years, the price of road graders went from $250,000 to $450,000,” she said. “Work force issues, and a large fraction of our roads have deteriorated.”
Warden said an access management system has been put in place, and the county is implementing five and 10-year plans for road improvements, which she said will involve a process of several steps.
“The commission will be tasked, based on the recommendations of Kirkham Michael, the Road and Bridge supervisor, myself and the constituents, with a plan of action moving forward,” she said.
Warden said budgeting and cost for repairs and replacements will be difficult with the county’s fiscal responsibility to taxpayers.
“What is actually needed, though, for those roadways, and do you look at a mill levy increase?” she said. “Another avenue they could take would be a bond issue, but would a bond issue pass? Are people willing to do that for better roadways in the rural areas? You can look at special legislation for additional sales tax revenue, whether that be a quarter of a percent, half a percent, but it would require special legislation to do an additional sales tax. That also would have to go on the ballot.”
