TOPEKA – Governor Laura Kelly today announced that $6.65 million in federal funds will go to 10 rural projects to increase the safety and efficiency of local roadways. The effort is part of the Kansas Department of Transportation’s High Risk Rural Roads (HRRR) Program.
“Our rural roads are important to the local and state economy,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “Programs like this enable commerce to flow smoothly and improve safety for Kansas families as they travel our state.”
The HRRR program is federally funded through the Highway Safety Improvement Program and is designed to improve rural road safety. An additional $2.37 million in local funds will be used for the selected projects. This year’s 10 HRRR projects were selected from 46 applications seeking $40.5 million in federal funds.
“Data shows more than 60% of fatal and serious injury crashes occur on county-owned roads and highways,” said Kansas Transportation Secretary Calvin Reed. “These funds assist our rural partners to increase roadway safety by using low-cost and proven countermeasures.”
Projects in this program fall into one of two categories: Systemic (encompassing a local roadway network) or Site Specific.
The county, category, amount awarded, county match, and brief description for the selected projects are:
| COUNTY | CATEGORY | AMOUNT AWARDED | COUNTY MATCH | DESCRIPTION |
| Barber | Site Specific | $420,000 | $122,000 | Install guardrail on Gyp Hill Road. |
| Crawford | Site Specific | $530,000 | $328,960 | Intersection improvements at S 200th Street and E 520th Avenue. |
| Dickinson | Site Specific | $1,055,000 | $297,000 | Widen roadway and install 3-inch shoulders with SafetyEdgeTM, eliminate fixed obstacles, extend culverts, increase radius returns at two side roads, and install new pavement markings on 1400 Avenue between Jeep Road and Key Road. |
| Haskell | Systemic | $270,000 | N/A | Upgrade signing on all minor collectors in the county. |
| Linn | Site Specific | $370,000 | $104,000 | Install pavement markings, hazard markers, and signs on Route 1095 from 1150 Road to 1650 Road. |
| Ottawa | Site Specific | $1,015,000 | $163,000 | Widen roadway, install 2-inch shoulders with SafetyEdgeTM, and install new pavement markings on N 170th Road from the Ottawa/Saline County line to K-18. |
| Phillips | Systemic | $525,000 | N/A | Upgrade signing on 154 miles of county roads east of U.S. 183. |
| Sedgewick | Site Specific | $1,600,000 | $1,117,000 | Improve edge conditions on W. MacArthur Road from 215th Street to K-42. |
| Seward | Site Specific | $775,000 | $202,000 | Extend four culverts, flatten the fore slopes, and install 1.5-inch shoulders on Road I north of Road 16. |
| Shawnee | Site Specific | $90,000 | $32,700 | Improve the geometry of two curves on NW 42nd Street and install new pavement markings, signs, and lighting to improve nighttime visibility. |
