Governor Kelly and Kansas Transportation Secretary Lorenz announced that $40.5 million will support 33 local and off-system bridge projects across the state. The announcement was made at the Law Enforcement Center in Westmoreland, Kansas Tuesday, December 12, 2022.
The Off-System Bridge program was established by the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) due to federal law and regulations that require a specific portion of a state's apportionment of Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) fund and Bridge Program Funds (BPF) be used for replacement or rehabilitation of eligible bridges located on roads that are not on the federal-aid system.
Public Works staff began working on a grant to submit bridges to KDOT as part of the Off-System Bridge Program this summer.
To be eligible for the program, bridges had to meet the following criteria:
- Located on a road functionally classified as a rural minor collector, rural local, or urban local road;
- Have a current National Bridge Inventory (NBI) inspection report;
- Have an NBI rating of "Poor".
Applications for two bridges nearing the end of their useful life in the county were submitted to the program. One bridge in the county was chosen by KDOT. Total funds awarded (covering 100% of construction and construction engineering) is $1,160,000 with the county portion being $147,423 or 11.3% of the total cost.
The project is located on Armstrong Road over Vermillion Creek two miles north, one mile east of Havensville.
The current bridge was built in 1910!
Left to right: Jena Newman, Lance Forgy, Steve Roggenkamp, Tim Eisenbarth, Governor Laura Kelly, Pottawatomie County Commissioner Deloyce McKee, Transportation Secretary Julie Lorenz, Pottawatomie County Commissioner (Chair) Pat Weixelman, and Nathan Bergman.