By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Kansas Department of Transportation announced Friday that Hutchinson will receive a Cost Share award of $1.5 million for Phase 1 of the Woodie Seat Freeway project.
The City of Hutchinson and Reno County made a submission of two projects that do not include the proposed single roundabout that is still being studied.
The award will cover approximately 42% of a $3.6 million dollar project that will assist in the repair and preservation of the Woodie Seat corridor including the County owned bridge over the Arkansas River and the City owned infrastructure located north of the bridge and south of Avenue C.
The city project will mill and overlay the road surface, replace stormwater drains and piping, replace guardrails, and remove the median at a cost of $2.2 million. The county project will resurface the bridge at a cost of $1.4 million.
"The program is a unique aspect of the ten year transportation program, the IKE program," Kelly said. "It's a cost share, which means that the state ponies up, but the locals also pony up. It has allowed us to do so much more and for our local communities to get more projects in the pipeline."
The city will receive $900,000 of grant funds. The county will receive $600,000. In other words, after the grant, the city's share will be $1.3 million and the county's share will be $800,000.
"It's really, in my opinion, a home run for the community," said Hutchinson Interim City Manager Gary Meagher. "We set aside some ARPA money, the city did, for this project. Here's about $900,000 that we have that we can use for other infrastructure projects, if that's what the council wants us to do. It's great that we're able to get this cost sharing grant."
This is part of $22 million in cost share grant awards across the state announced Friday. The bid on the Woodie Seat project will be let in January 2023.