“Kansas highways, roads and bridges link our producers and travelers to the rest of the world,” Moran said.  “Whether it’s driving to school or hauling grain, Kansans rely upon the safety and efficiency of the state’s transportation system.” 

Kansas has the fourth largest number of public roads in the nation, totaling more than 134,500 miles, and ranks third among all states in the number of bridges. The First Congressional District alone has more road miles than 29 states in the United States. 

The legislation includes funding for a number of projects in the First District, including:

• K-18 in Geary County:  To construct a new four-lane highway over the existing two-lane road, from the Riley-Geary County line, southward to Interstate 70.  This project will help to address the expanded traffic due to the increase in Fort Riley’s population, and to improve traffic efficiency and safety on K-18. 

• Old Highway 77 in Geary County:  To resurface, grade, replace guardrails, and add shoulders to Old Highway 77 in Geary County.  This project will help accommodate increased traffic that has already occurred, as well as additional traffic likely to occur because of increased troop levels at Fort Riley.  This will also improve safety by increasing capacity and helping to reduce the bumper-to-bumper high-speed travel on the road. 

• US-54/400 in Pratt County:  To construct a four-lane improvement on US-54/400, from four miles west of the Pratt-Kingman County line, continuing westward four miles in Pratt County.  This highway endures some of the heaviest two-lane truck traffic in Kansas, and this project will help improve traffic efficiency, safety and economic development in the region.

• US-400 in Ford County:  To construct the southwest quadrant of a two-lane on a four-lane right-of-way bypass with access control on US-400 at Dodge City.  This project will improve safety concerns and congestion problems along one of the major routes in southwest Kansas.

• Alternate Truck Route in Osborne County: To construct a mile and a half of new roadway to reroute heavy truck traffic away from a school zone and the main business district in Downs to the grain facility in the middle of town.  This new route will increase safety and economically benefit the community.

• Kansas & Oklahoma Rail Line, Osborne to Salina: To rehabilitate 82 miles of short line rail track from Osborne to Salina.  Improvement of this line will allow shippers to move their goods to market, benefiting rural economies along the line.  Also improves highway safety, decreases area highway congestion, and saves local funding for future road repair by reducing the number of trucks on the roads.

• National High Priority Corridor Designation:  Designates the SPIRIT Corridor on US-54 from El Paso, Texas, through New Mexico and Oklahoma, to Wichita, Kansas, and on US-50 High Plains Corridor from Newton, Kansas, to Pueblo, Colorado as National High Priority Corridors.  This designation makes the roads eligible to compete for additional grants and funding opportunities through the federal Border and Corridor Program.

In addition to individual projects, also included in the reauthorization bill are funding initiatives to improve the overall safety of the nation’s roads and interstate system, as well as upgrade bridges, roads and public transit across the nation.

Moran is a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and was actively involved in Congress’ last comprehensive transportation bill that became law in 1998. 

For more information, contact Congressman Moran at (202) 225-2715 or visit his web page at www.house.gov/moranks01/.