Office of the Governor
DODGE CITY — Governor Laura Kelly and Kansas Transportation Secretary Calvin Reed on Thursday announced that 35 local and off-system bridge projects across the state will receive a combined total of $42.3 million as part of two local bridge improvement programs that capitalize on new revenue from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).
One of those projects is a bridge 6.0 miles east and 1.8 miles north of Sterling over Cow Creek. Another is a Harvey County bridge on 60th Street - 9.3 miles east of I-135 over East Whitewater Creek.
Combined with matching funds from the awarded cities and counties, the total project value is nearly $48.8 million. By reshaping the local bridge programs to take advantage of BIL, the Kansas Department of Transportation more than doubled its annual funding as part of the existing Eisenhower Legacy Transportation Program (IKE).
“A stronger transportation system and safer bridges keep our communities and economy moving,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “There are more than 19,000 bridges on local road systems across Kansas, all of which are essential to getting people and goods where they need to go. Yet 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.”
The project announcements took place in Dodge City to highlight the largest local bridge grant being awarded: $7 million for the construction of a new northbound bridge on 14th Avenue over the Arkansas River. Dodge City is matching $2 million toward the $9 million total cost of the new bridge.
In addition to Governor Kelly and Secretary Reed, Dodge City Mayor Michael Burns and Representative Shannon Francis, Liberal, Chair of the House Transportation Committee, participated in the announcement.
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