By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
The City of Great Bend has the signs picked out and designed, but slight
confusion in placement has caused a delay in constructing the new entrance
signs coming into Great Bend.
Last December, the Great Bend City Council approved the purchase of welcome
signs to be placed on the two entrances to town that receive the most traffic.
The City did not have to spend a dime on the $38,724 purchase as monies came
from the Harms Trust fund.
The sign to be constructed on US 56 Highway coming in from the east is set to
be placed by the Kansas Department of Transportation building.
Knowing that a
portion of that highway will eventually be paved into a four-lane road, Great
Bend Convention and Visitors Bureau Director Christina Hayes says the city is
still working with the state on the right of way.
"These will look great for two of our entrances,"said Hayes. "Of course we have like six entrances, so it will be an ongoing process to get the rest of the signs up."
Hayes noted they want to get the right of way figured out so the sign does not
have to move shortly after built because of the highway construction.
The other sign will be placed on US 281 Highway coming into town from the north and will be right before the bridge and dike area.
"I think these signs will be something Great Bend people will eventually be proud of," said Hayes.
With the two stone columns on each end, the signs will be 20 feet long with the
tallest column standing nearly nine feet high. The aluminum fabricated sign
will read “Welcome to Great Bend” and have LED flood lights to illuminate the
sign at night. Mark's Custom Signs is handling the project.