Mitchell County to Receive Rural Road Safety Improvement Funds

Kansas Governor Laura Kelly announced that Mitchell County will receive $1,899,000 from the Kansas High Risk Rural Roads Program to improve the safety and efficiency of roads and local roadways.  

Mitchell County received funding to upgrade the guardrail on 130 Road (Waconda Lake Causeway Road) between K Road and the south city limits of Cawker City.

“These improvements are vital to maintaining the infrastructure as many Kansans depend on rural roadways,” Governor Laura Kelly said.  “Our rural roads are an important component to the local and state economy.  Programs like this ensure that commerce flows and Kansas families can travel the state safely.” 

The funding will be available through the Kansas High Risk Rural Roads (HRRR) Program which is a federally funded state/local partnership initiative designed to improve safety on rural roads.  This year’s 10 HRRR projects were selected from more than 40 applications seeking $21 million in federal funds.  Kansas HRRR funds cover 90-100 percent of total project cost with the counties making up the difference if required. 

“Recognizing that Kansans use local roads to reach state highways, KDOT partners with cities and counties to help improve local infrastructure,” Transportation Secretary Julie Lorenz said.  “Working together provides opportunities for communities to strengthen their local road network to improve connections across the state.” 

Projects in this program fall into one of two categories: Systemic (encompassing a local roadway network) or Site Specific.  Projects in the Systemic category are 100 percent federally funded and Site Specific projects are 90 percent federally funded.