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| Stimulus could benefit county |
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| News - Miami County News | |||
| Written by Robin Hixson | |||
| Wednesday, 25 February 2009 09:00 | |||
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Miami County could still receive federal stimulus funding for a local transportation project, even after being told its Bull Creek bridge project would not qualify. The Kansas Department of Transportation opened American Recovery and Reinvestment Act applications for local projects Friday, and Miami County Engineer Penny Evans said she intends to apply for 100-percent funding for the county’s Osawatomie Road bridge project. She and Road and Bridge Department Director J.R. McMahon began accelerating plans for that project several weeks ago, preparing it to be eligible for consideration. The Osawatomie Road bridge project, as originally designed, was estimated at about $700,000 and, although Evans said there is some redesigning under way, the cost should remain about the same, so that’s the figure being submitted in the funding application. Inspection costs of $150,000 to $200,000 are separate and will be paid by the county, Evans said. According to the 12-page ARRA statement published Friday on www.ksdot.org, each transportation district in Kansas will receive a range of funding based on a formula similar to that of the Special City County Highway fund. Evans said she has been told that District 4, which includes Miami County and 16 other counties, will receive $4 million. “That means we’ll probably be competing with Pittsburg and Parsons,” she said. Evans said KDOT will consider three primary criteria in selecting local projects. First, does the project meet federal requirements? These would include factors such as consultant selection, environmental clearances and right-of-way acquisition procedures. Second, is the project far enough along in development that it will meet the Dec. 1 deadline? Third, will it serve an important transportation need? Could it be built without ARRA funds? And will it improve safety and have a positive economic impact? Evans said she is confident the Osawatomie Road bridge project meets most of these criteria. One item of concern, however, is its less-than-heavy traffic load. In addition to opening application for local projects on Friday, KDOT announced selection of four state highway projects, totalling $206 million, to be funded from its $378 million cut of the federal recovery package. These four include a project to remove a regional bottleneck on U.S. Highway 69 in Johnson County at an estimated $84 million, reconstruction and upgrade at U.S. Interstate 135 and 47th Street in Wichita at an estimated $23 million, rejuvenation of Kansas Highway 23 in Gove County at an estimated $11 million, and an unfinished Comprehensive Transportation Plan project to expand Kansas Highway 61 from Hutchinson to McPherson at an estimated $88 million. KDOT has actually budgeted $268 million for state highway projects, leaving $62 million after the four primary projects. That money may be allocated toward expansion of Kansas Highway 18 from Ogden to Manhattan, although it would only partly cover the estimated $140 million project cost. The remainder of the $378 million has been allocated in the following manner: Kansas City, $22 million; Wichita, $16 million; Local governments (under which Evans is applying for Miami County’s Osawatomie Road bridge project), $32 million (spread among the transportation districts); transportation enhancements, $10 million; urban public transit system providers, $16 million; and rural public transit system providers, $14 million. Kansas’ plan for dispersing its recovery package funding was developed in keeping with the ARRA’s goal of creating new jobs. State officials anticipate it will create or sustain between 10,000 and 12,000 jobs for Kansans. “While we have many more transportation needs in Kansas than the recovery package can fund, this legislation will provide a significant boost to our infrastructure and economy,” said Kansas Transportation Secretary Deb Miller.
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