Governor Kelly Announces Construction Timeline Set for Final Phases of Remaining T-WORKS Projects
By Ad Astra News
OLATHE, Kan. – Seven Expansion and Modernization highway projects were announced by Governor Laura Kelly and Transportation Secretary Calvin Reed on Thursday for a total investment of more than $350 million. This was part of the Kelly administration’s bipartisan 10-year, $10 billion Eisenhower Legacy Transportation Program, also known as IKE.
The IKE program was passed in 2020, and since then more than $2 billion in highway modernization and expansion projects have taken place in construction according to the Kelly administration.
In addition to sharing the news about the IKE Construction Pipeline projects, Governor Kelly and Secretary Reed announced the final phase of two projects remaining from the T-WORKS program, K-383 in Norton and Phillips Counties, which will go to construction in 2026. They are the two safety improvement projects.
Secretary Reed also encouraged people to take part in a series of eight in-person local consult meetings held across the state and one virtual meeting starting next week. Having input from the bi-annual conversations helps Kansas Department of Transportation determine which projects will be constructed. Visit ike.ksdot.gov for meeting locations, dates, and times.
Yesterday’s announcement was held in Olathe, where improvements to the I-35/Santa Fe Drive interchange were among the selected projects. The project will address capacity issues on I-35 and reconfigure the interchange at 135th Street, which is estimated to result in a 42 percent reduction in fatal and injury crashes and a 22 percent reduction in property damage crashes.
Construction projects were also announced in Dickinson, Douglas, Finney, Gray, Rice, and Thomas counties.
For Rice County, there is a project is estimated at $15 million to add shoulders along 14 miles from the Lyons to McPherson County line on US-56 for the 2027 fiscal year.
To see the full list of the statewide Construction Pipeline projects and to read the full press release, click here. To see more information on these projects and other details, visit www.ksdot.gov.
