AASHTO Journal, 11 July 2014
Kansas Department of Transportation officials recently launched a new program that will assist the state’s agriculture industry by helping localities fund bridge fixes.
KDOT’s $10 million program, designed to cut the amount of deficient bridges on local road systems throughout the state, will provide up to $120,000 to counties (and possibly other local jurisdictions) to replace small bridges with a deficient rating. In order to qualify for KDOT’s assistance program, bridges must have a daily vehicle count of less than 100 and be 20-50 feet in length. Of the roughly 20,000 bridges on the state’s local road systems, 18 percent are structurally deficient. KDOT officials estimate that between 1,800 and 1,900 of the state’s structurally deficient bridges could quality for this funding. And while KDOT would contribute up to $120,000 in assistance, local jurisdictions must provide a 10 percent match.
KDOT Secretary Mike King said the program will help fill a hole for local governments and will assist in growing the economy through Kansas’ agricultural industry.
“While qualifying bridges under the program have relatively low traffic numbers, they are important routes for farmers to get their equipment to fields and their crops to market,” said KDOT Secretary Mike King in a statement. “Many of these bridges have a low load rating and it isn’t legal or safe for some of today’s large farm equipment to cross.”
KDOT will begin accepting applications for the program in mid-September and selections for funding will be announced in early October. Additional information on the program “will soon be posted” here.
