BY: TIM CARPENTER
TOPEKA — The Kansas Department of Transportation earmarked $42.3 million in federal funding to support $6.4 million in local government investment over the next two years to improve safety of nearly three dozen city or county bridges outside of the state highway system.
KDOT said a total of 15 projects were included in the 2024 map and blended $21.8 million funneled through the state and $4.7 million in local matching dollars. The plan would replace 16 bridges and permanently remove 12 bridges from local road systems.
The $7 million in federal aid and $2 million from Dodge City allowed work to proceed on a new bridge on 14th Avenue over the Arkansas River. In northeast Kansas, $750,000 from Congress and $86,000 tied to a 10% local match enabled work on a bridge east of Highland.
Next year, KDOT said, $20.5 million authorized by the state would be combined with $1.7 million in local funding for 20 projects. The 2025 roster included $990,000 in combined funding for a Crawford County bridge over a Little Walnut Creek tributary in southeast Kansas and $544,000 for the bridge east of Edson over the south fork of Sappa Creek in northwest Kansas.
Gov. Laura Kelly said nearly one-fourth of 19,000 bridges on Kansas’ local road systems were deficient, but those routes were vital to moving people and goods.
“Almost 5,000 of those bridges simply cannot meet our state’s needs in a modern world, which is why these investments are critical for making our state a better place to live and work,” Kelly said.
KDOT reshaped two local bridge programs to take advantage of the federal allocation. The agency received 176 applications for bridge repairs that would cost $162.4 million. Selection criteria took into account bridge condition, detour length, inability to carry legal loads and past project history.
“We welcome opportunities to partner with Kansas cities and counties to replace or rehabilitate deteriorating bridges,” said KDOT secretary Calvin Reed. “The needs are high.”
In addition to local commitments, the state relied on the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The law authorized $108 billion for public transportation in the United States.
The state’s congressional delegation divided along party lines on the 2021 federal spending bill. U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, a Democrat, voted for the bill. All five Republican members of the Kansas delegation voted against it, including U.S. Sens. Roger Marshall and Jerry Moran and U.S. Reps. Ron Estes, Jake LaTurner and Tracey Mann.